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ADDRESSES   OF  REV.    L.    BACON,   D.D. ,   REV.    KIRK 

AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE   CHRISTIAN  ALLIANCE 


THE   CHRISTIAN  ALLIANCE 


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BV  2370  .C52  B3  1845 
Bacon,  Leonard,  1802-1881. 
The  Christian  Alliance 


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ADDRESSES  &**"* 

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REV.  L,  BACON,  D.D.,  AND  REV,  E.  N,  KIRK. 


ANNUAL  MEETING 


THE  CHRISTIAN  ALLIANCE, 


HELD  IN  NEW  YORK,  MAT  8,  1845, 


WITH   THE 


2lbi>r£00  of  %  Society  antr  tl)e  Bull  of  %  jpope  against  it. 


NEW  YORK: 

S.   W.    BENEDICT,   16   SPRUCE   STREET, 
1845. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  ALLIANCE- 


CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I. — This  Society  shall  be  called  The  Christian 
Alliance. 

Article  II. — The  objects  of  the  Society  shall  be  to  promote 
religious  freedom,  and  to  diffuse  useful  and  religious  knowledge 
among  the  natives  of  Italy,  and  other  papal  countries. 

Article  III. — Any  person  may  become  a  member  of  this  So- 
ciety by  subscribing  the  Constitution,  and  contributing  not  less 
than  one  dollar  annually  to  its  funds  ;  and  a  member  for  life,  by 
the  payment  of  thirty  dollars  at  one  time. 

Article  IV. — A  Board  of  twenty-four  Councillors,  to  continue 
in  office  till  superseded  by  a  new  election,  and  eighteen  of  whom 
shall  reside  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  its  vicinity,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  conduct  the  business  of  the  Society  ;  one  third  of  the 
whole  number  shall  go  out  of  office  at  the  expiration  of  each 
year,  but  shall  be  re-eligible.  The  Councillors  shall  have  power  to 
appoint  all  the  officers  of  the  Society,  who  shall  hold  office  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  Board,  and  also  such  individuals  as  from 
time  to  time  they  may  deem  proper,  honorary  and  corresponding 
members  of  the  Board;  they  may  also  fill  such  vacancies  as 
may  occur  in  their  own  number,  and  fix  the  time  and  place  of 
their  meetings. 

Article  V. — The  Society  shall  hold  an  Annual  Meeting  in  the 
month  of  May  (the  day  and  place  to  be  fixed  by  the  Board  of  Coun- 
cillors), at  which  time  the  Councillors  shall  be  chosen,  the  ac- 
counts presented,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  during  the 
current  year  reported. 


4  CONSTITUTION. 

Article  VI. — The  President,  Vice-Presidents,  Treasurer  and 
Secretaries  for  the  time  being,  shall  be,  ex-officio,  members  of  the 
Board  of  Councillors. 

Article  VII. — The  President,  or  in  his  absence,  the  Vice- 
President  first  on  the  list  then  present,  or  in  the  absence  of  all  the 
Vice-Presidents,  such  member  as  may  be  chosen  for  that  purpose, 
shall  preside  at  the  meetings  of  the  Society  and  Board  of  Coun- 
cillors.    All  meetings  to  be  opened  with  prayer. 

Article  VIII. — The  Board  of  Councillors  shall  meet  statedly, 
as  often  as  they  shall  deem  it  necessary  ;  and  the  President  may, 
at  the  written  request  of  five  members,  call  special  meetings  of 
the  Board  of  Councillors,  causing  at  least  three  days'  notice  of 
such  meetings  to  be  given.  Five  members  shall  constitute  a  quo- 
rum for  the  transaction  of  business. 

Article  IX. — The  Board  of  Councillors  shall  annually  elect, 
by  ballot,  a  Committee  of  Publication,  consisting  of  not  less  than 
three,  nor  more  than  five  members,  no  two  of  whom  shall  belong 
to  the  same  religious  denomination  ;  and  no  books  or  tracts  shall 
be  published  or  circulated  by  the  Society,  to  which  any  member 
of  that  Committee  shall  object. 

Article  X. — Auxiliary  Societies  may  be  recognized  by  this 
Society,  on  signifying  their  approbation  of  the  Constitution  and 
paying  their  surplus  funds  into  the  Treasury.  The  Presidents 
of  such  Societies  shall  be,  ex-officio,  Vice-Presidents  of  the  parent 
institution. 

Article  XI The  Councillors  shall  have  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing such  persons  as  have  rendered  essential  services  to  the 
Society  Members  for  Life. 

Article  XII. — The  minutes  of  every  meeting  shall  be  signed  by 
the  Chairman. 

Article  XIII. — This  Constitution  shall  not  be  altered  except 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  Board  of  Councillors,  at  an  annual  meeting, 
and  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 


©fi&ara  anb  Boartr  of  Councillor. 


PRESIDENT. 
Rev.  LYMAN  BEECHER,  D.  D.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

William  B.  Crosby,  Esq.,         New  York. 

Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,    "       " 

Rev.  George  Potts,  D.  D.  "       " 

Rev.  Rolin  S  Stone,  D.  D.  Brooklyn. 

Hon.  Cyrus  P.  Smith,  " 

Rev.  Isaac  Ferris,  D.  D.  Ncto  York. 

Rev.  Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.  D.  Brooklyn. 

Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.  D.  New  York. 

Rev.  Thomas  E.  Bond,  M.  D.     "       " 

Hon.  Gabriel  Furman,  Brooklyn. 

Rev.  Charles  G.  Sommers,  New  York. 

Rev.  William  C.  Buck,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Rev.  George  Duffield,  Detroit,  Micliigan. 

Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.  D.  Princeton,  New  Jersey, 

Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.  D.  New  York. 

Rev.  John  Dempster,  "       " 

Abraham  Bruyn  Hasbrouck,  LL.  D.  New  Brunswick,  New- Jersey. 

Rev.  Sylvester  Holmes,  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.  D.,  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

Francis  Hall,  New  York. 

Chancellor  Reuben  H.  Walworth,  LL.  D.  Saratoga  Spa,  New  York. 

Timothy  Hedges,  Esq.  New  York. 

James  Bogert,  Jun.  "       " 

Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  D.  D.     "       " 

Rev.  John  M.  Krebs,  D.  D.  "       " 

George  H.  Williams,  Esq.  "       " 

Rev.  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  ) 

Rev.  Chauncey  Goodrich,  D.  D.        "         "  •« 

Rev.  John  Johnston,  D.  D.  Newburgh,  New  York. 

Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

CORRESPONDING    SECRETARIES. 

Rev.  Edwin  Holt,  New  York. 

Rev.  George  B.  Cheever,  D.   D.  "       " 

RECORDING  SECRETARY. 

Thomas   S.   Sommers,  Esq.,  New  York. 

TREASURER. 
A.  B.  Conger,  Esq.,  Grassy  Point,  N.  Y. 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

FIRST    CLASS. 

Rev.  William  Adams,  D.  D.  New  York. 
Rev.  Edward  Beecher,  D.  D.  Boston,  Mass. 
Rev.  Horace  Bushnell,  D.  D.  Hartford,  Conn. 
Rev.  Mancius  S.  Hutton,  D.  D.  New   York. 
Stephen  M.  Chester,  "       " 

Samuel  R.  Childs,  M.  D.  "       " 

John  B.  Edwards,  "       " 

Isaac  E.  Taylor,  M.  D.  "       " 

SECOND    CLASS. 

Rev.  Edward  N.  Kirk,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
Rev.  Edward  Lathrop,  New   York. 

Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D. 
Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thompson, 
Theodore  Dwight,  Jun. 
Hiram  Ketchum,  Esq. 
Anson  G.  Phelps, 
Professor  Henry  P.  Tappan, 

THIRD    CLASS. 

Rev.   Robert  R.  Breckenridge,  D.  D.  Pennsylvania. 

Rev.  R.  W.  Dickinson,  D.  D.  New  York. 

Rev.  William  Hague,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  E.  Tucker,  New  York. 

A.  B.  Conger,  Esq.  Grassy  Point,     "       " 

John  R.  Ludlow,  "       " 

H.  Weiser,  l  "       " 

HONORARY  MEMBER. 

Sir  Culling  EardleySmith,  Baronet,  Devonshire,  England. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

Rev.  Mancius  S.  Hutton,  D.  D.         Rev.  Edward  Lathrop. 
Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D.  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thompson. 

A.  B.  Conger,  Esq. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLICATIONS. 

Rev.  R.  W.  Dickinson,  D.  D.  Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D 

Rev.  C.  G.  Sommers.  ;;..  5-     Rev.  Rolin  S.  Stone,  D.  D. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE, 

A.  B.  Conger,  Esq.  John  B.  Edwards. 

John  R.  Ludlow. 


ANNUAL    MEETING. 


The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Christian  Alliance  was  held  in 
the  First  Baptist  Church,  Broome-st.,  New  York,  on  Thursday 
evening,  May  8th,  184-5.  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Society,  took  the  Chair.  The  exercises  of  the  eve- 
ning were  commenced  by  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  by  Rev. 
S.  H.  Cone,  D.  D.,  followed  by  prayer  by  Rev.  M.  S.  Hut- 
ton,  D.  D. 

The  Annual  Report,  prepared  by  Rev.  E.  Holt,  Cor.  Sec,  was 
then  read,  and  is  as  follows : 

REPORT. 

It  is  not  our  privilege  to  report,  as  yet,  very  extensive  results, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  we  have  been  thus  far  rather  in  a  form- 
ing state. 

The  experience  of  the  past  year  has  tested,  and,  we  think, 
amply  proved  the  practicability  of  a  design  like  ours — that  of  en- 
listing the  sympathies,  the  prayers  and  the  contributions  of  the 
various  denominations  of  Protestants,  in  plans  which  have  for  their 
object  the  defence  of  our  common  interests,  and  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  Papal  countries. 

As  yet  our  organization  has  not  been  sufficiently  known  to  se- 
cure the  resources  we  need  for  the  execution  of  our  plans.  The 
translation  of  Merle  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation  in 
Europe  into  Italian  has  been  commenced,  and  as  soon  as  the  re- 
quisite funds  shall  have  been  obtained,  it  will  be  completed,  and 
the  whole  work  printed.  Our  ulterior  plans  will  be  carried  into 
execution  as  far  and  as  fast  as  the  circumstances  will  permit.  We 
are  in  no  breathless  haste  to  bring  our  designs  to  their  issue. 
While  we  wait  to  swell  our  ranks  by  accessions  from  the  various 
sects,  who  do  not  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Rome,  while  we 
thus  gather  an  increased  momentum,  we  do  not  feel  that  we  are 
losing  time. 


8  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

Had  we  needed  confirmation  of  the  importance  and  feasibility 
of  our  design,  we  should  have  found  it  in  the  notice  which  our 
Association  has  received  at  Rome.  We  have  evidence,  from 
several  distinct  sources,  that  the  Christian  Alliance  has  excited 
unusual  attention,  and  called  forth  serious  dread  among  the  lead- 
ers of  the  Romish  Church.  They  are  not  slow  to  discern  that  an 
association  like  ours,  which  combines  the  scattered  ranks  of  Pro- 
testant Christians  into  one  firm  phalanx,  presents  a  formidable 
barrier  to  the  schemes  of  Papal  aggression,  and  that  the  forces 
thus  marshalled  may  overthrow  the  strongholds  of  their  own 
usurped  jurisdiction.  The  Pope  has  devoted  to  the  Christian  Al- 
liance no  small  space  in  his  Encyclical  Letter,  issued  May  8th, 
1844.  "  All  primates,  patriarchs,  bishops,  and  archbishops,"  are 
warned  against  our  proceedings.  The  bull  has  been  pasted  up  in 
the  churches  of  Italy.  It  has  been  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
We  presume  that  the  Papal  See  would  scarcely  give  such  signs 
of  alarm,  if  it  looked  upon  our  design  as  a  weak  and  pitiful 
scheme. 

We  have  received  from  other  and  better  sources  encourage- 
ment of  a  different  kind.  Eminent  Christians,  of  various  sects, 
have  warmly  applauded  our  plans.  We  may  mention,  particu- 
larly, among  those  by  whose  approbation  and  sympathy  we  have 
been  honored,  an  English  baronet,  whose  name  stands  conspicu- 
ous among  the  friends  of  Christian  enterprise,  Sir  Culling  Eardley 
Smith.  The  fulminations  of  the  Pope  drew  his  attention  to  our 
society.  After  having  written  to  a  gentleman  in  this  city  to  ob- 
tain more  specific  information,  he  sent  the  following  letter,  with 
a  donation  of  £10  : — 

Torquay,  Devonshire,  2rf  December,  1844. 

Gentlemen, — I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  my  friend,  Dr.  Patton, 
of  New  York,  the  receipt  of  your  Address,  &c.  ;  and  of  further 
particulars  relative  to  the  operations  of  the  Christian  Alliance.  I 
thank  God,  from  my  heart,  for  the  formation  of  your  society. 
You  have  raised  a  noble  standard  of  alliance  between  all  those 
who  hold  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  against  the  arch-heresy  of  Anti- 
christ.    Your  methods  are  as  politic,  as  your  end  is  scriptural. 

May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  permit  you  to  reap  anabun- 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  \) 

dant  harvest  from  the  seed  sown  !  May  you  live  to  see  the  walls 
of  Babylon  fall  at  the  sound  of  the  Gospel  trumpet !  Already 
there  are  symptoms  of  the  approaching  crisis !  The  Lord 
hasten  it ! 

I  have  requested  my  friend,  Dr.  Patton,  to  place  in  your  hands 
.£10,  as  my  contribution  to  your  funds.  Having  lately  translated 
the  Pope's  Letter,  in  which  reference  is  made  to  your  Society,  I 
have  ventured  to  enclose  a  copy.*.  I  shall  do  my  utmost  to  urge 
our  friends  in  Great  Britain  to  give  their  cordial  co-operation  to 
your  movement. 

Believe  me,  dear  sirs,  in  the  double  bond  of  a  common  race  and 
a  common  Saviour,  your  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

C.  Eardley  S^iith. 

Such  interest  in  our  plans,  we  trust,  will  be  elicited  from  many 
more  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  There  are  slumbering  ele- 
ments of  vast  power  in  the  bosom  of  the  Protestant  Churches. 
We  have  an  increasing  conviction,  that  if  those  elements  are  com- 
bined and  directed  under  the  influence  of  Christian  light  and  love, 
they  will  not  fail  to  win  the  deluded  votaries  of  Romanism  to  the 
adoption  of  a  pure  Christianity,  and  to  relieve  the  world  of  the 
incubus  of  Papal  despotism. 


Rev.  Edmund  S.  Janes,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  moved  the  adoption  of  the  Report,  and  in  a  few  ap- 
propriate remarks  commended  the  Alliance  to  the  prayers  and 
sympathies  of  the  Christian  public. 

Rev.  Dr.  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  seconded  the  motion,  and  re- 
marked substantially  as  follows  : 

It  gives  me  much  pleasure,  Mr.  President,  to  find  myself  this 
evening,  what  1  never  expected  to  be,  the  successor  of  a  bishop. 
You  may  take  that,  if  you  please,  as  a  proof  that  our  Society  is 
in  deed  as  well  as  in  name  a  Christian  Alliance  ;  and  let  us  hope 
that  we  may  yet  see  the  time  when  a  Methodist  bishop  shall  lay 
on  hands  in  the  seven  hilled  city,  and  when  Methodist  preachers, 
dividing  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter  into  circuits,  and  treading  the 
ancient  pavements  of  the  Appian  Way,  shall  "  preach  the  Gospel 
to  them  that  are  in  Rome  also." 

*  See  Appendix. 


10 


ANNUAL    MEETING. 


This  age,  Mr.  President,  as  we  often  hear,  and  as  we  all  see  and 
feel  continually,  is  an  age  of  revolution — more  so  perhaps  than 
any  preceding  age  in  the  history  of  man.  There  is  often  an  illu- 
sion on  our  minds  when  we  look  at  the  progress  of  revolutions  in 
former  ages.  Events  viewed  at  a  distance  from  the  time  of  their 
occurrence,  seem  to  lie  near  together,  though  separated  hy  more 
than  one  lifetime.  Such  is  the  law  of  perspective  in  time  no  less 
than  in  space  j  while  events  which  have  come  to  pass  at  different 
periods  of  our  own  short  lifetime,  seem  to  us  to  be  far  apart. 
But  what  changes  have  occurred,  Mr.  President,  within  your  life- 
time ?  Nay,  my  years  have  not  been  muck  more  than  half  as 
many  as  yours,  and  what  have  I  seen  1  Revolution  upon  revolu- 
tion, with  portentous  rapidity  of  succession — revolution  in 
everything — empire,  commerce,  arts,  literature,  science,  all  chang- 
ing as  if  the  wheels  of  time  were  rushing  on  with  new  rapidity, 
glowing  and  smoking  on  the  axle  as  they  approach  their  final 
goal. 

The  progress  of  revolution  in  this  age  is  eminently  the  progress 
of  new  opinions  struggling  for  ascendency.  •  Revolutions  in  the 
form  of  conspiracy,  insurrection,  war — revolutions  which  are 
merely  the  work  of  violence,  and  in  which  power  only  passes 
from  one  hand  to  another,  or  from  one  family  to  another,  or  from 
one  metropolis  or  kingdom  to  another — such  revolutions  as  fill 
the  history  of  Asiatic  empires — are  of  little  moment  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  A  revolution  in  empire  acquires  importance,  and 
tells  in  history  only  as  it  marks  the  progress  of  a  new  idea  achiev- 
ing its  ascendency  over  the  minds  of  nations,  and  moulding  their 
policy  and  institutions  into  conformity  with  itself.  The  revolu- 
tionary convulsions  of  the  present  age,  as  all  men  know,  are  little 
else  than  the  upheaving  of  the  nations  by  the  power  of  new  ideas 
everywhere  spreading,  and  everywhere  taking  possession  of  the 
minds  of  awakening  thousands.  And  conflict  will  succeed  to  con- 
flict, one  explosion  after  another  will  shake  the  nations,  till  these 
ideas  are  either  completely  suppressed  or  completely  triumphant. 
Nay,  they  can  never  be  suppressed.  There  is  no  barrier  of  throne 
or  altar,  no  array  of  armies,  no  bastion  or  bulwark,  that  can  always 
stand  before  them. 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  11 

It  is  manifest,  I  think,  to  every  reflecting  mind,  that  the  next 
great  stage  in  the  progress  of  opinion  among  the  nations  of  Chris- 
tendom, must  be  the  assertion  and  reception  of  the  doctrine  of 
religious  freedom.  Freedom  is  the  great  passion  of  this  age  ;  the 
thirsting  and  yearning  of  the  nations  is  for  freedom.  They  are 
struggling  for  it,  living  for  it,  and  ready  to  rush  into  any  avenue 
that  will  lead  to  it.  The  nations  groan  being  burthened.  But 
the  history  of  the  last  three  hundred  years — nay,  the  history  of 
all  ages  shows  that  the  liberty  sought  for,  personal  libertj^,  civil 
liberty,  liberty  of  thought,  liberty  of  the  press,  every  kind  of 
liberty,  will  be  insecure,  will  be  unreal,  unless  guarded,  and  up- 
held, and  made  to  live  by  the  vital  energy  of  religious  freedom. 
As  yet,  the  assertion  of  liberty,  the  demand  for  it,  the  desire  for 
it,  especially  in  Roman  Catholic  countries,  has  never  pointed  to 
religious  freedom  as  the  first  thing  and  the  great  thing.  Hence 
in  all  Roman  Catholic  countries,  and  chiefly  in  those  which  have 
no  Protestant  element,  all  attempts  at  civil  liberty  are  abortive, 
and  must  be.  Man  is  made  for  religion — for  the  knowledge  and 
the  intelligent  and  willing  service  of  God.  Take  away  his  moral 
and  religious  nature — divest  him  of  his  relations  to  God  and  to 
eternity — and  he  is  not  man.  Give  him  whatever  other  freedom 
you  will,  if  you  do  not  give  him  freedom  for  the  knowledge  and 
the  intelligent  service  of  God,  if  you  hold  the  highest  and  noblest 
part  of  his  nature  still  in  bondage,  he  does  not  yet  begin  to  be  a 
freeman. 

One  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  throughout  the  world,  is  an  in- 
crease of  the  spirit  of  religious  inquiry,  and  a  development  of  re- 
ligious sensibility.  Infidelity  such  as  that  of  Voltaire  and  Paine 
— infidelity  with  the  name  and  form  of  infidelity — is  felt  to  be 
less  and  less  in  keeping  with  the  tendencies  of  thought  and  senti- 
ment. Infidelity  itself  just  now> — if  it  would  not  be  altogether 
contemptible — is  constrained  to  be  liberal  towards  Christianity, 
and  to  protest  against  that  philosophy  which  disposes  of  eternity 
and  of  the  mysteries  of  man's  nature  and  existence  with  a  sneer. 
It  pays  homage  to  the  religious  element  in  man  ;  it  speaks  re- 
spectfully of  Christ  5  it  uses  many  a  devout  expression ;    it  is 


12  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

sometimes  almost  persuaded  to  be  a  Christian,  or  at  least  it  tries 
to  make  men  think  so.  Meanwhile  a  new  and  more  active  vital- 
ity is  manifesting  itself  in  all  the  so  called  forms  and  systems  of 
Christianity.  Men  are  waking  up  in  all  quarters  to  feel  that  they 
sustain  relations,  not  to  the  visible  only  and  the  transient,  but  to 
eternity  and  to  the  eternal  God.  Seriousness — earnestness  about 
religious  things — is  getting  to  be  the  character  of  the  times.  We 
mark  a  striking  difference  in  this  respect  between  the  present 
portion  of  our  age,  and  the  period  through  which  we  were  pass- 
ing a  few  years  ago.  Religious  questions  are  exciting  a  wider 
and  profounder  interest  here,  and  in  Great  Britain,  and  through- 
out Europe.  Thus  it  is  becoming  daily  more  and  more  probable 
that  the  next  stage  in  the  progress  of  opinion  throughout  Europe, 
and  throughout  the  world,  will  be  the  assertion,  and  the  slow  but 
sure  reception,  of  the  great  idea  of  religious  freedom. 

And  when  that  idea  shall  have  become — as  in  time  it  must  be- 
come— self-evident  to  all  men — when  it  shall  be  enthroned  in  the 
minds  of  the  nations,  and  perpetually  predominant  in  their  life 
and  being — then  it  will  take  possession  of  the  governments  of  the 
nations,  and  work  itself  deep  into  their  constitutions  and  their 
laws.  When  that  idea  shall  be  in  other  lands  as  completely  and 
universally  self-evident  as  it  is  in  this  land  ;  then  in  other  lands, 
as  here,  the  government  and  the  laws  will  be  compelled,  by  an 
inexorable  tendency  of  nature,  to  adjust  themselves  to  that  idea. 
And  what  changes  will  the  ascendency  of  that  one  idea  involve  % 
It  is  the  want  of  freedom,  and  first  of  all  the  want  of  religious 
freedom  in  Roman  Catholic  countries,  which  creates  the  great 
and  obvious  fact  that  they  are  continually  disgorging  their  super- 
abundant misery  upon  Protestant  countries.  At  this  hour,  one 
chief  danger  of  Protestantism,  in  a  political  point  of  view,  arises, 
strangely  enough,  from  the  fact  that  Protestant  countries  under 
the  influence  of  the  freedom,  and  especially  of  the  religious  free- 
dom which  they  enjoy  in  various  degrees,  are  so  fair  and  happy  that 
they  seem  like  Elysian  fields  to  those  who  dwell  in  the  Tar- 
tarus of  spiritual  despotism:  Thus  it  is  that  emigration  sets  with 
so  strong  a  current  from  Catholic  to  Protestant  countries.     Eng- 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  13 

land  has  misery  enough  of  her  own  °,  but  the  misery  of  her  own 
peasantry  is  aggravated  continually  by  the  pouring  in  upon  her 
green  shores,  of  superabundant  misery  from  that  yet  greener  isle, 
which  she  has  cursed  with  a  despotism  she  would  not  endure  at 
home.  So  we,  who  are  here  to-night,  well  know  that  our  country 
has  at  this  hour  no  greater  danger  than  that  which  presses  in  upon 
us  from  the  Roman  Catholic  countries  of  the  old  world.  This  is 
a  danger  which  we  cannot  think  of  averting  ;  we  must  meet  it. 
The  mighty  tide  of  immigration  cannot  be  turned  backward  ;  nor 
would  I  ask  to  have  it  stayed  ;  let  us  but  do  our  part,  trusting  in 
God,  and  the  God  of  our  fathers  will  bear  us  safely  through.  A 
similar  danger  exists  in  Switzerland.  Geneva  itself,  the  cradle 
of  the  Reformation,  is  in  danger  of  being  overwhelmed  by  Roman 
Catholic  immigration.  Religious  freedom,  with  its  quickening 
influences  upon  the  minds  of  a  people,  raises  that  people  in  the 
scale  of  being,  gives  them  new  impulses  to  enterprise,  new  in- 
dustry and  skill  for  labor,  till  the  country  they  inhabit  brightens 
and  blooms  into  new  beauty,  and  the  soil  beneath  their  feet  be- 
comes like  Eden. 

Nor  is  this  altogether  a  mystery.  For  what  is  religious  free- 
dom 1  What  is  that  doctrine,  the  assertion  and  universal  recep- 
tion of  which,  among  a  people,  works  such  changes  1  What  is 
it  1  It  is  simply  the  development  and  application  of  that  great 
principle  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  Gospel — the  princi- 
ple of  the  right,  nay,  let  me  rather  say  the  duty,  of  private  judg- 
ment. This  is  Protestantism — this  is  Christianity.  There  can 
be  no  Christianity  without  it,  There  is  no  Christianity  but  the 
recognition  of  the  Gospel  as  a  revelation — aye,  a  revelation,  from 
God  to  man,  a  revelation  which  every  individual  man  to  whom  it 
comes,  must  receive,  and  believe,  and  obey,  under  his  individual 
responsibility  to  God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  own  faculties.  The 
Gospel  bids  men  repent,  under  its  call,  and  in  view  of  the  great 
truths  from  eternity  which  it  presents  as  motives  to  repentance. 
It  bids  men  believe  what  it  reveals.  It  bids  them  obey  what  it 
enjoins  5  and  the  obedience  it  requires  is  not  mechanical  and  for- 
mal, but  the  obedience  of  the  intelligent  and  spiritual  nature. 


14  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

Thus  it  bids  men  think,  reflect,  discriminate ;  and  that  not  by 
proxy,  but  in  person.  Thus  it  calls  men  to  the  exercise  of  their 
minds,  and  makes  them  partakers  of  a  spiritual  freedom.  Every 
religion,  which  is  not  essentially  a  religion  of  unthinking  and  un- 
meaning performances,  must  rest  upon  the  assumption  of  the 
sacred  right,  the  high  and  awful  duty,  of  private  judgment.  The 
duty  of  thought  and  reflection  about  God  and  the  soul,  and  the 
soul's  relations  to  eternity — the  duty  of  inquiring  what  God  re- 
veals, and  of  believing  and  obeying  all  his  revelations — is  the 
right  to  think,  to  inquire  after  truth,  and  to  receive  the  truth  as  it 
manifests  itself  to  the  soul ;  and  this  right,  recognized  and  honored 
as  a  right,  is  religious  freedom.  Take  that  first  element  of  Chris- 
tianity, "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,"  and  you  find  that  it 
involves  the  idea  of  the  duty,  and  therefore  of  the  right,  of  every 
man  to  know  God,  to  see  him  with  the  eye  of  faith,  to  apprehend 
his  character  and  glory,  to  confide  in  his  promises,  to  understand 
his  truth,  and  to  obey  his  will  with  intelligent  and  affectionate 
homage.  This  idea,  developed  and  applied,  is  religious  freedom. 
Now  it  is  the  assertion  of  this  idea,  thus  unfolded  and  applied, 
to  which  we,  as  a  society,  are  pledged.  It  is  this  particular 
aspect  and  bearing  of  the  enterprise  of  converting  the  world,  which 
is  represented  by  the  Christian  Alliance.  And  it  is  well  that 
among  the  assemblies  which  are  gathered  from  day  to  day  on  such 
an  occasion  as  this,  there  is  one  which  stands  out  distinct  and  emi- 
nent as  the  embodiment  of  the  great  Protestant,  nay,  the  great 
Christian  truth,  of  the  right  and  the  duty  of  every  man  to  think, 
to  feel,  to  judge,  to  worship,  for  himself,  under  his  responsibility 
to  God.  It  is  right,  it  is  seemly,  it  is  beautiful,  to  find  in  this 
assemblage  of  Christian  anniversaries,  one  that  holds  up  distinctly 
the  one  idea  of  universal  religious  freedom.  We  need  to  bring 
home  to  our  hearts  and  minds,  amid  all  these  developments  of 
zeal — amid  these  various  appeals,  rousing  us  to  the  conflict  with 
error  and  superstition,  and  with  all  the  devices  and  tactics  of  the 
powers  of  darkness — the  duty  of  honoring  religious  freedom. 
Under  these  multiplied  and  stirring  excitements,  we  need  that 
lesson,  which  the  distinct  remembrance  of  the  great  principle  of 
religious  freedom  is  fitted  to  teach  us. 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  15 

But  how  can  the  Christian  Alliance  act  for  the  promotion  of 
religious  freedom  ?  This  is  a  fair  question  ;  and  if  we  cannot 
answer  it  satisfactorily,  we  cannot  expect  cooperation.  Of  course 
we  cannot  at  this  hour  go  into  all  the  details  which  such  an  answer 
may  involve  ;  but  I  may  say  enough,  in  a  few  words,  to  show  that 
our  enterprise  is  not  chimerical. 

Let  me  say  then  plainly,  at  the  outset,  We  have  nothing  to  do 
with  any  organization  or  movement  for  political  ends.     We  have 
nothing  to  do  with  any  revolution  in  which  physical  force  is  to  be 
used  as  an  instrument.     We  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  schemes 
of  violence  or  of  insurrection  against  tyranny.     We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  plots  and  conspiracies  and  secret  operations  of  any 
kind  whatever.     We  have  no  capacity  for  doing  anything  of  that 
sort  if  we  would.     All  that  is  out  of  our  vocation.     There  are 
other  men  of  a  different  name,  and  of  a  very  different  standing 
and  reputation — Europe  knows  them  well,  and  America  is  likely 
to  know  them  too — who  deal  in  conspiracies,  and  secret  arrange- 
ments, and  underground  machinations.     But  all  that  policy  is 
incongruous   with   the   genius   and   structure   of  Protestantism. 
Protestants  can  do  nothing  in  that  way  if  they  try.     It  is  counted 
by  some  the  misfortune  of  Protestantism,  but  I  count  it  the  felicity 
of  Protestantism,  that  it  is  so  disorganized,  so  uncentralized,  so 
unsubmissive  to  authority,  so  popular  in  its  structure,  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  acting  by  any  secret  machinery.     Our  friends  here 
to-night,  who  may  intend  to  transmit  some  account  of  our  proceed- 
ings to  the  Court  of  Rome,  may  take  note  of  this,  and  set  it  in 
their  tablets  distinctly,  that  we  admit  fully  our  incapacity — nay, 
we  glory  in  our  incapacity  of  acting  by  those  means,  by  which 
Popery  achieves  its  triumphs. 

We  are  to  act,  then,  openly,  and  in  the  face  of  the  world. 
Nay,  the  very  thing  that  we  desire,  as  most  auspicious  to  success, 
is  to  have  the  world  look  on  and  see  what  we  are  doing.  We 
act,  and  we  design  to  act,  only  by  suggestion  and  discussion,  by 
the  diffusion  of  ideas — nay,  of  one  idea  chiefly,  and  of  others 
only  as  they  are  related  to  this,  or  follow  in  its  train.  We 
insist  that  it  is  the  right  of  every  man,  upon  God's  footstool, 


16  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

to  read  God's  book.  We  insist  that,  as  God  now  commands  all 
men  everywhere  to  repent,  it  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of  all  men 
everywhere  to  know,  by  the  exercise  of  their  own  minds',  with 
whatever  aids  and  advantages  He  gives  them,  those  vast  and  stu- 
pendous motives  by  which  he  enforces  his  command.  This  is  our 
position.  This  one  idea  we  are  to  inculcate.  We  would  array 
and  embody  in  behalf  of  it  the  moral  force  of  all  the  free  and  be- 
lieving minds,  not  of  our  own  country  only,  nor  of  Protestant 
Europe  only,  but  of  Christendom.  We  believe  that  in  Eoman 
Catholic  countries — we  believe  that  in  Italy,  and  even  at  Rome, 
there  are  minds,  not  skeptical  and  careless,  but  earnest  and  be- 
lieving minds,  ready  to  receive  this  great  truth,  ready  to  adhere 
to  it,  ready  to  aid  in  diffusing  it.  If  the  press  is  not  free  in  Italy, 
the  Italian  press  is  free  out  of  Italy.  If  speech  is  not  free  in  Italy, 
the  Italian  language  out  of  Italy  may  give  its  music  to  the  utter- 
ance of  one  great  and  high  idea,  the  doctrine  of  religious  free- 
dom. 

This,  then,  is  what  we  wish  to  do  in  Europe,  and  particularly 
with  reference  to  Italy.  We  wish  to  do  it  now,  in  this  accepted 
and  propitious  time — now,  in  the  lull,  as  it  were,  of  the  long 
tempest  of  revolution — now,  ere  the  clouds  which  ever  and  anon 
begin  to  gather  in  the  horizon,  and  then  disappear,  shall  condense 
into  blackness,  and  sweep  over  Europe  in  storms  of  military  vio- 
lence. I  wish  to  leave  this  impression  distinctly,  that  the  time 
now  passing,  is  the  time  for  scattering  the  seeds  of  thought,  of 
opinion,  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  life ;  where  they  may  vege- 
tate silently,  and  spring  up  and  grow,  till  in  the  end  they  shall 
produce  a  harvest  that  shall  "  shake  like  Lebanon."  Few  of  us, 
I  apprehend,  are  sufficiently  aware  of  the  precarious  tenure  on 
which  the  peace  of  Europe  is  suspended,  or  of  the  precariousness 
of  the  entire  order  of  things  now  existing  there.  We  talk  of  those 
thrones  as  ancient.  You  can  remember,  Mr.  President,  when 
hardly  one  of  them  was  standing  ;  when  the  thrones  on  which  the 
monarchs  of  Southern  and  Romish  Europe  especially  now  sit — 
that  of  the  Pontiff  among  the  rest — were  overturned  and  swept 
away.     They  have  been  patched  and  set  up  again,  mostly  within 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  17 

my  memory-;  and  the  occupants  just  now  seem  to  sit  on  their 
"ancient  thrones,"  as  the  language  of  the  day  is,  with  something 
of  the  aspect  of  tranquillity  ;  yet  men  who  know  about  these  old 
thrones  that  have  been  so  lately  capsized  and  righted  again,  know 
full  well,  that  there  is  not  one  of  them  which  does  not  tremble  at 
its  base  with  every  breath.     That  old  throne  of  the  Pontiff,  how 
firmly  does  that  stand  ?     How  much  of  the  feeling  of  security  is 
there  in  the  bosom  of  him  who  sits  to-day  in  the  chair  of  Hilde- 
brand  ?     He  sits  there  ;  his  throne  stands  on  its  base — only  as  by 
the  permission  of  heretical  England  5  and  that  he  knows  and  feels. 
Let  me  point  to  an  illustration  of  this,  which  has  just  taken  place, 
as  it  were,  before  our  eyes.     We  have  seen  a  great  political  agi- 
tation in  Ireland,  and  have  seen  it  suddenly,  miraculously  subsid- 
ing.    How  is  this  1     The  great  Agitator,  the   great  Liberator  of 
Ireland — is  he  dismayed,  wearied,  baffled,   defeated  %     No — the 
Pope,  just  as  Ireland  seemed  certain  of  gaining  for  itself  a  Roman 
Catholic  parliament,  and  a  substantive  existence  as  a  Roman  Ca- 
tholic kingdom,  the  Pope  has  interposed  with  his  veto.     What  is 
the  matter  with  the  Pope  1     The  British  Government,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, has  intimated  to  His  Holiness,  very  indirectly  no  doubt, 
and  with  the  most  delicate  and  roundabout  hint  imaginable,  yet 
distinctly  enough  to  be  understood,  that  it  would  be  quite  accept- 
able to  Sir  Robert  Peel,  if  His  Holiness  would  send  a  letter  to  the 
bishops  and  archbishops  of  his  Church  in  Ireland,  commanding 
them  to  keep  the  peace  ;  and  furthermore,  that  if  he  would  not 
send  such  a  letter,  it  would  not  be  strange  if  agitation  should 
show  itself  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.     A  word  from  the  British 
cabinet  to  Austria,  saying  to  the  Austrian  government,  "  Maintain 
your  existing  order  of  things,  as  you  please,  on  your  own  side  of 
the  Po,  but  pass  not  that  river  with  your  bayonets,"  and  in  a  week 
the  government  of  the  Pope,  in  the  city  of  the  Caesars,  would  be 
at  an  end.     And  the  Pope  knows  it ;  and  therefore  the  slightest 
and  remotest  hint  from  the  cabinet  of  London  is  enough  to  show 
him  what  to  do.     Hence  the  tranquillity  that  is  coming  upon 
Ireland  so  suddenly  through  the  agency  of  the  Popish  hierarchy. 
His  Holiness  knows  that  revolutionary  agitation  is  a  game  that 
2 


18  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

two  can  play  at ;  and  that  in  that  game  he  would  infallibly  be 
the  loser.  So  precarious  is  the  tenure  by  which  the  existing 
order  of  things  in  Europe,  and  especially  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
nations,  holds  its  existence  ;  so  precarious  the  tranquillity  of  the 
passing  season !  And  it  is  the  consideration  of  the  precariousness 
of  this  tranquillity  which  makes  the  passing  season  so  precious. 
Providence  is  giving  us  just  now,  an  opportunity  to  scatter  over 
that  broad  field,  seeds  which  shall  find  a  lodgment  in  the  rocks 
and  mountains,  and  along  the  watercourses,  and  wherever  the  free 
winds  and  the  birds  of  the  air  may  carry  them — seeds  which  may 
be  buried  perhaps  for  a  while  deep  under  the  sods  of  the  valley, 
and  may  seem  to  be  lost,  but  which  in  their  appointed  time  shall 
yield  a  blessed  harvest.  Let  us  "  sow  our  seed  in  the  morning, 
and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  our  hand,  for  we  know  not  whe- 
ther shall  prosper  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall 
be  alike  good."  But  we  know  that  "  in  due  season  we  shall  reap 
if  we  faint  not." 

There  is  an  old  man  in  Europe,  whose  days  are  now  "  dwin- 
dled to  the  shortest  span," — an  old  man  on  whose  continuance  in 
life  depends  the  continuance  of  the  peace  of  Europe,  and  the 
stability  of  its  thrones.  It  is  that  old  man  who  by  the  surge  of  a 
revolution  fifteen  years  ago,  was  tossed  as  it  were,  after  a  life  of 
storm  and  change,  into  the  throne  of  the  Bourbons.  The  death 
of  Louis  Philippe,  whenever  it  may  occur,  is  likely  to  be  the 
signal  for  the  outbreaking  of  the  suppressed  fires  of  revolution. 
He  is  the  conservator  of  the  peace  of  Europe.  He  holds  in  check 
by  his  vast  system  of  power  and  of  policy,  by  force  combined 
with  patronage,  and  with  the  adroitest  management  of  men  and 
tendencies,  the  impetuous  impulses  of  the  French  nation.  Who 
shall  hold  them  in  check  when  his  heavy  sceptre,  of  iron,  and  of 
gold,  shall  have  descended  to  the  hand  of  an  infant  ?  Who  shall 
keep  the  peace  of  Europe  then1?  Who  shall  hold  back  the 
wheels  of  revolution  then  1  Who  shall  hold  Hungary  to  the 
throne  of  Austria  then  1  Who  shall  hold  Lombardy  to  Austria 
then  1  Then  Italy  so  long  divided  into  fragments,  so  long  kept 
asunder  by  the  petty  acts  of  Papal  diplomacy,  in  opposition  to  the 
strong  yearning  with  which  the  parts  are  ever  tending  to  be  on* 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  19 

again,  will  be  shaken  with  new  conflict,  while  those  sundered 
members,  instinct  with  the  life  of  ages,  struggle  wildly  to  achieve 
a  better  destiny.  Then  it  will  be  too  late  for  such  a  work  as  our's, 
a  work  of  love  and  light,  a  work  for  times  of  quietness.  Now, 
while  the  elements  still  slumber,  is  the  time  to  hold  up  those  ideas 
of  justice  and  true  freedom,  to  spread  abroad  those  elements  of 
life  and  salvation,  which,  now  diffused,  may  be  effectual  in  mould- 
ing, renewing  and  transforming  the  social  institutions  that  must 
otherwise  be  speedily  dissolved. 

Rev.  Mr.  Kirk,  of  Boston,  succeeded  Dr.  Bacon  in  a  speech  in 
effect  as  follows : 

We  have  just  been  properly  reminded  that  no  institution  can 
live,  unless  it  is  demanded  by  the  circumstances  of  men,  and  by 
the  sense  of  their  necessities.  Our  Alliance  complies  with  these 
conditions.  It  is  not  a  creator,  but  a  creation  ;  not  a  cause,  but 
an  effect.  It  is  the  creature  of  a  rapidly  strengthening  public 
sentiment ;  the  channel  for  a  thousand  swelling  streams  of  holy 
feeling,  of  contempt  for  arrogance,  hatred  of  bigotry,  and  love  of 
liberty.  It  was  not  organized  to  originate  opposition  to  the  Pa» 
pacy.  But,  an  opposition  to  the  Papacy,  that  has  existed  for  a 
long  time,  and  increased  in  strength  with  its  duration,  now  seeks 
to  express  itself  in  something  more  practical  and  efficient  than  it 
finds  in  any  existing  organization.  The  Christian  Alliance  is  an 
expression  of  the  vitality  of  Protestantism  in  its  three  grand  fea-» 
tures — its  love  of  spiritual  liberty — its  unity  of  spirit  and  purpose 
— its  Christ-like  charity. 

1.  Protestantism  is  the  love  of  Spiritual  Liberty.  At  first  in- 
deed, it  was  only  the  offspring  of  that  sentiment ;  for  Luther's 
protestations  were  at  first  against  dogmas  only.  But  the  protesta- 
tion did  not  organize  itself  in  the  form  of  the  new  Church,  until 
he  had  discovered  that  despotism  is  the  essential  spirit  of  the 
Papacy.  It  is  also  true,  that  neither  he  nor  our  Puritan  fathers 
had  so  far  unlearned  the  lessons  of  despotism  received  in  their 
childhood  and  manhood,  as  to  embrace  in  the  universality  of  ita 
application,  the  doctrine  of  the  right  of  private  judgment.  And 
yet,  with  these  qualifications,  Protestantism  is  essentially  the  love 


20  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

of  religious  liberty.     It  abhors  despotism  over  the  conscience, 
both  for  its  parentage  and  its  progeny  ;  originating,  as  every  grade 
of  this  tyranny  does,  in  the  baseness  of  a  scepticism,  which  admits 
not  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  religion,  and  working  hypocrisy 
in  the  tyrant  and  in  his  victim.     It  is  utterly  uncongenial  with 
every  system  and  feeling  which  seeks  unity  by  violating  inde- 
pendence.    It  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  very  word  Toleration,  in 
religion.     What !    it   indignantly  exclaims,  tolerate  me  in   my 
duty,  my  thinking,  my  worship  %     Who  made  you  the  master  of 
my  conscience,  of  my  understanding,  and  my  religious  sensibili- 
ties 1     Who  has  placed  you  and  me  in  such  a  relation,  that  I  must 
be  indebted  to  your  clemency,  if  my  head  remains  upon  my 
shoulders  when  I  worship  God  as  I  understand  God  to  require  1 
It  is  opposed  to  that  arrogance  or  pride  which  prompts  a  man,  in 
virtue  of  externals,  of  rites,  of  ecclesiastical  organization  or  polity, 
or  of  anything,  but  Christian  character,  to  claim  a  superior  place 
in  the  divine  favor.     It  abhors  spiritual  despotism  in  the  baseness 
of  its  attempt  to  destroy  the  very  being  of  piety,  by  riveting 
upon  the  spirit  the  hollowness  and  mockery  of  formalism.     It 
originated  in  the  love  of  truth,  grew  into  the  love  of  liberty,  and 
now  is  its  pledged  defender   and   supporter.     Do  any  inquire 
what  is  spiritual  liberty  1     It  is  like  the  air  ;  a  good  whose  pre- 
sence is  not  realized,  and  whose  worth  is  not  known  by  the  pos- 
session, but  by  the  deprivation.     Spiritual  liberty  is  not  a  positive 
and  essential  good  by  itself,  for  it  may  exist  with  great  evils  ;  and 
yet  no  real  good  can  exist  without  it.     And  it  is  on  account  of 
this  indissoluble  connection  with  all  the  higher  forms  of  good 
that  we  prize  it.     Spiritual  liberty  is  essential  to  sincerity,  to 
faith,  love,  obedience,  humility,  charity,  in  a  word,  to  all  that  is 
true  and  noble  in  Christian  character.     When  under  civil  pains 
and  penalties,    or    the   more    terrible  fulminations    of    ghostly 
tyrants,  a  man  embraces  a  creed,  performs  a  ceremony,  sings  a 
psalm,  utters  a  prayer,  he  is  not  a  man,  he  is  a  machine  ;  he  does 
not  believe,  nor  love,  nor  praise,  nor  pray,  just  so  far  as  he  feels 
the  power  of  human  dictation  and  human  menace.     He  has  sold 
himself  to  the  Juggernaut  of  Hypocrisy,  and  consented  to  lie 
down  under  its  filthy  wheels,  and  be  crushed  for  the  glory  of  the 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  21 

hideous  idol.  Protestantism  loathes  all  this.  It  has  learned  the 
dignity,  and  glory,  and  sweetness  of  believing  on  evidence,  of  be- 
lieving God  in  spite  of  men,  of  daring  to  follow  the  truth  against 
the  frowns  of  the  great  and  the  hissings  of  the  multitude.  Spi- 
ritual liberty  is  the  uninterrupted  opportunity  of  expressing  reli- 
gious opinions  through  the  press,  or  by  conversation  and  preach- 
ing, and  of  worshipping  God  according  to  personal  convictions. 
The  right  to  such  expression  of  opinion,  and  to  such  worshipping, 
is  a  sacred  territory,  which  no  man  can  invade  with  impunity,  on 
any  pretence.  If  the  individual  is  doing  wrong,  his  responsibility 
is  to  God,  and  not  to  a  civil  government,  nor  to  a  spiritual  govern- 
ment, unless  he  has  freely  professed  accordance  with  it  in  matters 
of  opinion  and  worship.  But  to  assume  the  power  of  thinking  for 
other  men,  of  believing  and  of  prescribing  a  way  of  worshipping 
God  on  penalty  of  fines,  civil  disabilities,  imprisonments,  autos-da- 
fe  and  excommunications,  all  this  Protestants  abhor.  And  the 
Christian  Alliance  designs  to  express  that  abhorrence  in  appropri- 
ate actions.  This  is  our  title — The  Christian  Alliance  for  the 
promotion  of  religious  liberty.  Let  our  banner  thus  inscribed 
wave  from  the  mosque  of  Omar,  the  Capitol  of  Washington,  the 
Cathedral  of  Milan,  the  Tower  of  Notre-Dame,  and  the  Dome  of 
St.  Peter's.  Let  the  weary  and  fainting  nations  look  up  and  see 
its  majestic  folds,  and  read  the  pledge  of  our  holy  brotherhood — 
to  labor  until  death,  for  the  world's  emancipation.  This  is  one 
ground  for  a  distinctive  organization. 

2.  Protestantism  has  a  unity  of  Spirit  and  Purpose.  It  is 
among  the  misrepresentations  of  Papal  teaching,  that  Protestant- 
ism is  division  and  confusion,  and  that  Romanism  is  unity  and 
order.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  that  point,  and  show  the 
wide  range  of  facts  that  contradict  it.  Suffice  it  now  to  assert, 
and  appeal  to  men  who  know,  on  either  side,  for  the  truth  of  the 
assertion,  that  within  the  Roman  ranks  there  are  as  many  differ- 
ences of  opinion  and  practice,  as  many  jealousies  and  hatreds  as 
Rome  has  ever  charged  upon  her  adversary.  But  we  repeat, 
Protestantism  is  one.  It  includes  two  classes ;  that  gives  it  the 
unity  of  Christianity,  which,  like  its  founder,  always  reckons 


22  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

wheat  and  tares  in  the  field  of  the  Church,  good  and  bad  fish  in 
its  net,  wise  and  foolish  virgins  in  its  professed  attendants  on  the 
Lord  of  the  feast.  Protestantism  has  just  so  much  uniformity  as 
honestly  expresses  the  unity  of  independent  men,  who  in  the  in- 
dependent exercise  of  their  individual  powers,  have  come  to  think, 
and  speak,  and  feel,  and  worship  alike.  Any  other  uniformity  is 
the  result  of  a  degrading  military  drill,  which  destroys  individu- 
ality, to  secure  the  quiet  working  of  a  great  human  machine, 
called  the  Church.  Protestantism  abhors  the  grave-yard  harmo- 
ny, the  Procrustes  uniformity  of  the  Roman  Church.  There  is 
one  thing  at  least,  in  which  all  Protestants  are  united  (and  that 
unity  this  Alliance  is  organized  to  express),  that  is,  the  honesty 
and  earnestness  of  our  attachment  to  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, in  matters  between  God  and  the  soul.  And  he  who  differs 
from  us  there  is  no  Protestant. 

3.  Protestantism  is  founded  in  Charity.  I  make  here  no  arro- 
gant nor  extravagant  pretensions.  All  Protestants  have  not  been, 
and  all  are  not  charitable.  But  I  speak  of  the  two  systems  as 
contrasted  in  their  essential  spirit.  You  hear,  indeed,  of  Rome's 
tender  compassion  for  men's  souls  ;  and  I  rejoice  to  believe  that 
many  a  Romanist  has  as  much  of  that  sentiment  as  any  of  us 
who  oppose  him.  Our  protest,  however,  against  the  compassion 
of  the  sect  as  such,  is  on  the  ground  of  its  expending  the  energy 
of  its  charity  in  reasonings,  persuasions,  denunciations,  social  ex- 
communications, imprisonings,  banishments,  burnings,  dragoon- 
ings,  Bartholomew-day  murderings,  with  many  of  much  more 
recent  date,  to  bring  its  victims  to  profess  what  they  do  not 
believe,  and  to  promise  what  they  cannot  conscientiously  per- 
form, and  to  strengthen  the  influences  of  a  hierarchy  which 
they  detest.  To  deny  that  the  Papacy  has  exercised  such  charity 
toward  heretics  and  recreant  Romanists,  is  to  expunge  the  records 
of  history.  To  deny  that  the  spirit  of  the  sect  is  unchanged,  and 
as  bad  now  as  it  ever  was,  is  to  admit,  that  there  was  a  time  when 
the  keys  were  taken  out  of  Peter's  hands,  so  that  some  things 
which  he  bound  on  earth  were  unbound  in  Heaven  ;  is  to  ad- 
mit, that  there  was  a   dark  and  long  period  in  which  the  Spirit 


ANNUAL    MEETING. 


23 


was  not  with  the  Church ;  and  that  period  so  surrounding 
and  including  the  Council  of  Trent,  as  to  make  her  present  foun- 
dation unstable.  We  believe  that  the  human  heart  is  just  so  de- 
praved, that  when  its  possessor  gets  into  the  position  of  a  Roman 
prelate,  whose  salvation  is  not  made  sure  by  faith  nor  by  works, 
but  by  water,  and  wafer,  and  Latin  charm-words  ;  whose  tempta- 
tion to  aggrandize  his  official  power  is  so  great ;  who  has  such  a 
vast  pecuniary  investment,  such  great  political  interests  in  the 
system,  he  will  enslave,  oppress  and  maltreat  his  fellow  men,  with 
less  compunction,  less  restraint,  less  modesty,  and  shame,  and 
fear,  than  a  man  in  any  other  situation  in  the  world.  The  poor 
slave-trader  is  working  hard  for  himself,  against  his  conscience, 
his  country,  the  world.  But  the  Papal  slaver  has  (in  his  own  esti- 
mation) God,  the  holy  angels,  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  and 
martyrs  looking  down  with  delight  upon  every  pious  wrench  he 
gives  the  tortured  limb  or  the  agonized  mind  of  his  heretical  vic- 
tim. I  wish  it  were  slander  to  say  so.  Yes,  before  God,  I  wish 
it  were  a  false  imputation  upon  the  unchanged,  immutable,  im- 
maculate Church  of  Rome,  to  say,  she  persecutes.  But  the  man 
must  be  a  fool,  who  pretends  that  her  policy  is  guided  and  inspir- 
ed by  the  charity  of  the  New  Testament.  A  Protestant  may 
have  an  uncharitable  heart ;  but  it  is  because  he  is  a  man,  not  be- 
cause he  is  a  Protestant.  His  system  inculcates  uncompromis- 
ingly these  principles — convince  and  persuade  by  truth,  and  if 
these  fail,  cease  every  effort  but  prayer.  Rome  says,  you  ought 
to  save  the  heretic's  soul  at  the  expense  of  his  body  ;  and  logi- 
cally too  does  she  say  it,  on  her  premises.  Protestantism,  in  its 
true  spirit,  is  the  love  of  man,  and  the  love  of  truth.  It  seeks  to 
bring  them  into  holy  wedlock,  by  spreading  the  charms  of  the  one 
before  the  other's  eyes.  It  has  no  violence  ;  it  can  have  none, 
from  its  nature.  It  has  no  selfish  end  ;  I  mean  from  the  necessity 
of  the  case.  The  Protestant  may  belong  to  a  sect,  and  indulge 
too  much  desire  to  swell  the  numbers  of  his  sect.  But  I  repeat, 
he  gets  none  of  that  from  Protestantism.  But  the  Romanist  is 
taught  that  men  must  be  made  to  attach  themselves  to  the  one  true 
Church,  willingly  if  willingly,  but  willingly  or  unwillingly  for  the 


24 


ANNUAL    MEETING. 


greater  glory  of  God    (as   the  Jesuits  say),  the  union  must  De- 
formed.    God's  glory,  the  Church's  honor,  the  man's  soul,  all  re- 
quire that  the  man  be  married  to  the  Church.     Charmed  or  dis- 
gusted, knowing  or  ignorant,  sincere  or  hypocritical,  he  must 
marry  the  Church.     Oh,  how  has  this  great  world  of  civilized 
men  stood  by  so  long,  and  seen  the  abominations  of  this  process,, 
without  forming  a  Holy  Alliance  to  expose  the  adulterous  charac- 
ter of  such  wedlock !     But  the  time  has  come.     The  Christian 
Alliance  is  the  world's  voice,  and  the  world's  hand,  moved  by 
compassion  for  man,  upraised,  outstretched  to  prevent  the  increase' 
of  this  pollution. 

But  where  will  the  Christian  Alliance  begin  to  work  1  In 
Italy — the  land  of  Dante,  and  of  Petrarch.  In  Italy ;  because 
Rome  is  its  capital ;  and  Rome  is  the  seat  and  centre  of  spir- 
itual despotism.  She  substitutes  fictions  for  truth  ;  a  human 
will  for  God's,  in  the  religious  direction  of  men.  Her  power  is 
compulsion,  not  persuasion.  Her  alliance  is  with  military  powerj. 
and  with  the  sophistry,  and  intrigue,  and  bribery  of  diplomacy. 
In  1815,  at  a  meeting  of  the  German  Confederacy,  Metternich 
said  to  the  assembled  princes  of  Europe :  u  Let  us  set  ourselves 
not  only  against  the  popular  movement  of  the  age,  but  moreover 
labor  to  restore  the  quietness  of  the  feudal  ages."  When  this 
sentence  fell  on  the  ears  of  Europe,  they  laughed  ;  but  a  thought- 
ful observer  might  have  mingled  some  tears  with  his  smiles.  The 
restoration  of  the  feudal  system  is  the  dream  of  an  old  man  with 
a  withered  heart,  who  seeks  to  tarn  the  world  into  the  quiet 
chamber,  where  neither  children's  rattles  nor  grown  men's  work- 
ing-tools may  disturb  his  repose.  It  is  a  ridiculous  thought ;  and 
yet  that  ridiculous  phrase  actually  describes  the  policy  of  Eu- 
rope :  and  while  it  fails,  and  must  fail,  to  attain  its  end,  the  ex- 
periment will  cost  much  to  poor  humanity,  and  keep  back  the 
day  of  light  and  freedom  for  unhappy  Europe.  The  present  Pope 
is  personally  a  poor  old  man,  more  to  be  pitied  than  feared  ;  but 
the  Roman  hierarchy,  in  which  the  despotic  principle  is  em- 
bodied, which  is  the  choicest  instrument  of  European  despotism, 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  25"' 

is  now  crushing  the  energies  and  wearing  out  the  hearts  of  our 
brethren  in  Italy.  Go  where  you  will  in  that  unhappy  country, 
you  will  see  the  marks  of  spiritual  despotism  as  we  have  described 
them.  But  this  is,  after  all,  only  one  side  of  the  case.  The  tra- 
veller sees  only  the  surface.  Some  of  us  have  been  permitted  to 
look  a  little  deeper,  and  to  see  what  only  two  parties  fully  un- 
derstand. I  mean  the  Italians  and  their  oppressors.  The  inward 
reality  is,  that  while  the  Reformation  is  crushed  in  Italy,  its 
spirit  remains  unsubdued.  I  mean  not  here  its  evangelizing  doc- 
trine, nor  its  spiritual  feeling,  but  the  inborn  love  of  liberty. 

There  is  among  us  but  a  limited  appreciation  of  the  actual  spirit 
of  Italy.  Just  refer  to  the  fact  that  the  literature  and  the  history 
of  Italy  are  anti-papal.  The  cry  of  Dante  still  rings  in  the  ears 
of  his  countrymen,  when  appealing  to  God  against  the  court  of 
Rome. 

The  history  of  the  country  is  a  record  of  the  villanies  of  the 
Popes — of  the  rise  and  fall  of  Italian  freedom.  The  whole  policy 
of  the  Popes  has  been  to  court  the  princes  when  the  Papacy  was 
overthrown,  or  its  temporal  domain  abridged.  Pepin  was  invited 
in  to  prevent  the  Lombards  from  making  a  nation  of  Italy.  In 
the  thirteenth  century,  the  Roman  court,  fearing  that  Manfred 
would  make  one  nation  and  kingdom  of  Italy,  invited  Charles  of 
Anjou  to  invade  it.  Charles  was  successful,  and  his  success  was 
rewarded  with  the  dominion  of  Naples  by  the  Pope,  for  subduing 
his  country  to  himself.  The  flourishing  Italian  republics  were 
overthrown  by  the  intrigues  of  Rome.  What  is  more  revolting 
to  an  Italian  heart  than  the  destruction  of  the  Florentine  Repub- 
lics by  Clement  VII.  1  Their  country  was  rising  again  under  the 
French  administration  j  but  ever  since  the  Pope  was  restored  to 
his  dominion,  in  the  middle  section,  everything  has  been  declin- 
ing. I  am  not,  in  all  this,  alluding  to  his  temporal  power  as  a 
prince,  but  to  his  temporal  power  brought  to  invade  the  depart- 
ment of  thought,  conscience,  and  will,  in  matters  of  religion* 
And  if  any  American  still  believes  that  Italy  loves  the  Pope,  let 
me  try  to  undeceive  him  by  an  assertion  which  may  start  him  on 
the  track  of  inquiry — it  is  not  so.     The  traveller  who  looks  only 


26  ANNUAL    MEETING. 

at  the  works  of  art  in  Italy,  and  passes  rapidly  through  the  cou. 
try,  may  fail  to  see  the  indications  of  discontent.  But  there  are 
eyes  that  see  them — there  are  some  in  the  Vatican  that  know  them. 
The  Italian  spirit  is  sick  of  the  spiritual  despotism  of  the  Roman 
court.  Who  is  this  Pope  that  strides  upon  our  shores,  and  is 
already  laying  the  foundations  of  his  empire,  perhaps  of  his  Inqui- 
sition, on  our  mountains  and  in  our  valleys  1  Who  is  that  man, 
that  accosts  us  with  great  swelling  words  1  Is  he  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Italian  mind  and  heart — and  is  he  the  revered  bishop 
of  souls,  whose  pious  example  and  labor  have  endeared  him  to  the 
holiest  of  his  countrymen  1  Has  he  left  behind  him  thousands  of 
happy  subjects,  millions  praying  for  his  success  1  No,  none  of  all 
this.  Foreign  bayonets,  and  the  policy  of  the  British  Cabinet, 
force  his  tyranny  on  his  discouraged  countrymen.  ?\To — his 
plans,  his  policy,  are  execrated  by  the  best  and  most  enlightened 
men  of  Italy.  Foreign  gold,  and  gold  wrung  from  an  oppressed 
people,  is  carrying  on  his  war  among  us.  The  Italian  mind  is 
struggling  for  freedom.  What  means  of  emancipation  does  the 
Christian  Alliance  propose  to  employ  1 

1.  The  union  of  the  free  hearts  of  the  human  race  ;  simply  for 
the  moral  effect  of  union. 

This  is  another  answer  to  the  question,  why  no  existing  organi- 
sation accomplishes  our  purpose.  They  are  either  confined  to 
evangelical  sects,  or  they  propose  an  object  which  cannot  enlist 
the  sympathies  of  enlightened  nations,  not  possessing  our  evangeli- 
cal views.  But  liberty,  liberty  of  conscience,  is  a  watchword  to 
ring  throughout  the  earth,  and  thrill  the  heart  of  every  papal 
country.  The  name  of  Christian  Alliance  has  already,  I  believe, 
sounded  more  powerfully  in  Italy,  than  the  names  of  all  our  mis- 
sionary and  anti-papal  organizations.  Why  1  Its  banner  bears  a 
word  most  dear  to  their  hearts.  It  proclaims — we  are  with  you 
in  heart  ;  struggle  on,  wait  on,  pray  on  ;  we  are  with  you. 

If  you  do  not  believe  me,  read  the  Bull.  What  sent  its  warn- 
ing here  among  the  free-hearted  American  churches  1  Hov. 
came  the  old  gentleman  to  expose  his  terror  so  early  1  Many 
here  think  the  Alliance  is  a  feeble  affair.     Well,  surely,  if  an}'- 


ANNUAL    MEETING.  27 

body  ought  lo  know,  it  is  His  Holiness.     The  priests  of  Rome  do 
not  conceal  their  consternation. 

2.  Supervision  of  the  Pope,  and  correspondence  with  him. 
There  is,  probably,  not  a  man  in  whom  we  have  a  greater  inte- 
rest ;  and  yet  how  little  we  have  done  to  cultivate  his  acquaint- 
ance ! 

3.  Direct  instruction  of  the  people  in  their  rights  and  their  duties. 
To  deal  with  the  masses,  you  cannot  rely  on  the  powers  of  the 
earth.  They  are  against  you.  But  the  masses  are  with  you.  I 
say  masses ;  for  there  are  no  people,  in  the  political  sense,  in 
Europe.  The  Pope  sends  out  his  edicts,  and  agents  to  deal  with 
our  people.  We  shall  send  ours  to  deal  with  the  intelligent  few 
and  uneducated  many,  over  whom  he  rules.  We  have  as  much 
interest  in  them  as  we  have  in  the  Chinese  or  the  Polynesians. 
We  will  go  to  Italy,  and  say  to  the  multitude  of  its  miserable 
population :  Establish  schools,  chapels,  newspaper-presses  ;  circu- 
late books,  Bibles,  &c. ;  place  these  volumes  of  Merle  D'Aubigne, 
in  a  cheap  form,  at  the  doors  of  Italy.  That  work  now  commands 
the  admiration  of  the  most  sensible  men  in  Italy.  The  first  vo- 
lume alone  would  overthrow  all  respect  to  the  usurped  authority 
of  the  Church,  in  the  majority  of  minds.  We  can  send  the  Italian 
Bible  with  the  imprimatur  of  their  own  bishops,  which  will  stop 
the  mouths  of  the  Jesuits. 

Of  the  feasibility  of  our  plans  we  will  say  nothing  at  present. 
They  are  in  their  incipient  stage  ;  and  time  alone  can  test  them. 
Not  one  of  them  is  new,  however,  or  untried.  There  are  but  two 
experimental  points  in  the  whole  enterprise ;  will  Protestants  act 
together — will  the  Italians  receive  our  sympathy  and  aid  1  We 
have  no  doubts  about  the  affirmative  answer  to  both  these  ques- 
tions. Let  those  who  have  doubts  wait,  and  candidly  observe  our 
movements. 


APPENDIX. 


ADDRESS. 


For  nearly  twenty-five  centuries,  the  destinies  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  world  have  been  involved  with  those  of  the 
Italian  peninsula.  The  empire  which  arose  out  of  the  vic- 
tories of  the  Roman  Republic,  which  attained  its  height  of 
grandeur  under  the  Roman  emperors,  which  decayed  with 
the  decay  of  ancient  civilization,  and  which  fell  under  the 
successive  assaults  of  barbarian  hordes,  emerging  from  nor- 
thern Europe  and  from  central  Asia,  did  not  perish  when  it 
fell.  Unlike  those  ephemeral  empires  which  suddenly  ap- 
pear in  history,  and  pass  away  as  suddenly,  the  Roman  em- 
pire, with  its  centuries  of  growth  and  centuries  of  slow 
decay,  had  taken  too  deep  a  hold  upon  the  destinies  of  the 
world,  to  be  swept  away  by  any  external  overthrow.  The 
spirit  of  departed  empire  lingered  around  "the  eternal  city/' 
and  soon  embodied  itself  in  other  forms.  Though  the 
eagles  of  conquest  and  of  dominion  had  taken  their  flight 
from  the  Capitol  and  from  the  Palatine  mount,  Rome  was 
still  the  world's  metropolis ;  and  from  her  seven  hills  there 
went  forth  over  the  nations  of  barbarian  conquerors,  an  in- 
fluence that  tempered  their  ferocity,  checked  the  power  of 
secular  tyrants,  maintained  the  ascendency  of  one  learned 
language,  and  constrained  all  Europe,  divided  into  so  many 
nations  and  languages,  to  acknowledge  a  common  au- 
thority and  to  look  to  a  common  centre.  The  bishops  of 
Rome  appropriated  to  themselves  the  vacant  sovereignty 


30  ADDRESS. 

of  the  world,  ana  the  pretended  successors  of  St.  Peter 
became  the  actual  successors  of  Cassar.  Under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  dominion  which  Rome  thus  established,  plac- 
ing the  foot  of  her  pontiffs  on  the  necks  of  kings,  and 
compelling  them  to  execute  with  their  secular  power  the 
decrees  of  her  spiritual  despotism,  Christianity — the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  church  as  distinguished  from  that  of  the  Bible, 
was  robbed  of  that  free  spirit  which  it  had  in  the  begin- 
ing — the  spirit  which,  recognising,  in  matters  of  faith  and 
worship,  the  doctrine  of  every  man's  individual  and  direct 
responsibility  to  God,  asserts  the  corresponding  right  of  in- 
dividual judgment  and  action,  and  proclaims  to  all  who 
would  stand  between  God  and  the  conscience,  "  whether  it 
be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  to  you  more  than  to 
God,  judge  ye."  Rome  reigned  over  the  domain  of  con- 
science, and  princes  were  the  executioners  of  her  decrees. 
And  when  at  length  the  nations  of  the  earth  revolted  against 
Rome,  and  the  empire  of  her  pontiffs  was  rent  by  the  pro- 
testant  reformation,  even  then  that  inalienable  birth-right  of 
the  soul,  freedom  of  faith  and  worship,  was  but  faintly  as- 
serted in  protestant  countries,  and  governments  claimed  that 
command  over  the  intercourse  between  the  soul  and  its 
Maker,  which  had  been  exercised  by  Rome.  It  was  only  in 
a  new  world,  over  which  the  colossal  shadow  of  Roman  do- 
minion never  fell,  that  the  great  idea  of  the  complete  exclu- 
sion of  government  from  all  jurisdiction  over  religious  faith 
could  be  realized.  This  idea,  completely  developed  in  all  its 
applications,  and  every  where  established  as  a  supreme  and 
irreversible  law  of  society,  is  destined  to  give  to  Christianity 
the  opportunity  of  reasserting  its  primitive  simplicity  and 
purity,  and  the  primitive  freedom  and  loftiness  of  its  spirit. 

At  the  present  day,  the  destinies  of  a  large  part  of  the  hu- 
man race  are  dependent  on  the  condition  of  Italy.  The 
empire  which  the  Roman  pontiff  holds  in  the  world  of 


ADDRESS.  31 

thought  and  faith,  is  in  the  most  intimate  alliance,  offensive 
and  defensive,  with  systems  of  secular  misgovemment.  An 
intellectual  and  moral  revolution  in  Italy,  emancipating  the 
minds  of  the  masses  there,  and  establishing  the  great  princi- 
ple of  religious  freedom  in  the  conviction  of  the  people, 
would  speedily  be  felt  wherever  the  See  of  Rome  has  in- 
fluence. Let  it  become  self-evident  to  the  people  of  Italy, 
as  it  is  to  the  people  of  America,  that  the  State  has  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  intercourse  between  man  and  God ; 
and  that  every  man  has  a  right  to  determine  for  himself, 
under  his  responsibility  to  God,  what  teacher  he  will  accept 
to  enlighten  and  to  guide  his  soul,  and  with  whom  he  will 
associate  himself  for  worship  and  religious  communion ; 
and  ere  long  that  great  idea  ascendant  in  the  common 
mind,  the  idea  of  religious  freedom,  will  work  out  for  itself, 
by  one  process  or  another,  under  a  merciful  Providence,  its 
practical  devolopement.  The  prevalence  of  the  doctrine  of 
religious  liberty  among  the  Italians  would  change  all  things 
in  Italy.  Even  within  "  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter,"  it 
would  kindle  the  light  of  true  and  spiritual  worship  amid 
the  monuments  and  mummeries  of  superstition ;  it  would 
arrest  the  progress  of  desolation,  by  removing  the  most 
effectual  of  the  causes  that  have  paralyzed  the  nerves  of  in- 
dustry, and  have  spread  blighting  and  decay  over  the  face 
of  nature  itself;  and  by  awakening  in  the  common  mind 
the  consciousness  of  a  spiritual  emancipation,  it  would  im- 
part a  new  impulse  to  every  department  of  thought  and 
enterprise.  The  bishop  of  Rome,  instead  of  being  dis- 
honored as  the  head  of  the  worst  governed  state  in  Chris- 
tendom, would  become  simply  the  chief  dignitary  of  a 
great  religious  communion.  That  change  would  be  felt 
throughout  the  world. 

The  common  mind  of  Italy,  it  is  believed,  is  gradually- 
tending  towards  such  a  change.    The  abortive  attempts  at 


32  ADDRESS. 

political  revolution,  which  have  occurred  within  the  past 
twenty-five  years,  and  which  have  been  put  down  imme- 
diately by  Austrian  bayonets,  have  taught  Italian  patriotism 
one  valuable  lesson.  The  patriotic  minds  of  that  glorious 
land,  whether  in  exile  or  on  their  native  soil,  are  under- 
stood to  have  abandoned  the  hope  of  liberating  their  coun- 
try by  insurrection  and  the  sword.  They  see  that  there  can 
be  no  hope  of  a  new  Italy,  otherwise  than  by  an  intellectual 
and  moral  revolution  that  shall  make  the  people  new. 
They  see  that  nothing  desirable  can  be  accomplished  with- 
out the  diffusion  of  new,  quickening  and  elevating  ideas 
among  the  masses  of  their  countrymen.  They  see  that 
Italy  will  have  all  necessary  freedom  whenever  the  com- 
mon people,  the  gay  unthinking  peasantry  of  her  villages, 
and  the  mechanics  and  shopkeepers  of  her  towns,  begin  to 
become  inquiring,  thoughtful  men  ;  men  accustomed  to  be- 
lieve and  act,  not  implicitly  according  to  the  dictation  of 
others,  but  intelligently  according  to  their  own  convictions. 
Many  of  them  having  been  made  acquainted,  by  years  of 
exile,  with  what  it  is  that  constitutes  the  happiness  of  na- 
tions truly  free,  have  become  convinced  that  the  great 
charter  of  such  happiness  is  the  Bible,  and  that  the  ideas 
which  are  to  work  out  the  true  emancipation  of  their  coun- 
try, can  never  be  awakened  in  the  masses,  but  in  connection 
with  the  teachings  of  that  book.  With  such  views,  move- 
ments are  already  organized  by  Italians  themselves  to  dif- 
fuse among  their  countrymen  such  knowledge  as  will  tend 
to  that  intellectual  and  moral  renovation  without  which  all 
political  changes  will  be  of  little  value. 

The  Christian  Alliance,  for  the  promotion  of  religious 
freedom,  has  originated  in  the  attention  which  gentlemen 
of  various  Christian  denominations,  in  the  city  of  New- York 
and  elsewhere,  have  recently  given  to  the  present  condition 
of  Italy,  and  the  relations  between  that  country  and  the 


ADDRESS. 


33 


cause  of  religious  freedom  throughout  the  world.  A  door 
is  open  for  the  access  of  truth  to  the  minds  of  the  Italian 
people.  Notwithstanding  the  most  rigid  censorship  over  the 
press  and  the  importation  of  books;  notwithstanding  every 
regulation  which  the  genius  of  despotism  can  devise  to  shut 
out  knowledge  and  to  suppress  inquiry  ;  notwithstanding  the 
terrors  of  Austrian  artillery  and  the  inconveniences  of  a  po- 
lice swarming  in  every  quarter ;  it  is  ascertained  that  to 
some  extent  papers,  tracts,  books,  the  Bible  itself,  can  be  in- 
troduced into  Italy,  and  can  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  will  hardly  fail  to  read  and  to  profit  by  the  reading.  At 
the  same  time  an  ample  field  of  effort  is  presented  among 
the  Italians  out  of  Italy,  between  whom  and  their  country- 
men at  home  there  is,  and  notwithstanding  every  possible 
regulation  there  must  continue  to  be  a  constant  intercourse. 
Even  the  slightest  acquaintance  with  Italians  in  foreign 
countries  shows  that  they  are  liberally  disposed  and  ready 
to  receive  new  ideas.  From  the  Ionian  islands,  from  France, 
from  Great  Britain,  and  from  other  countries,  Italians  are 
continually  returning  to  Italy;  and  if,  in  the  lands  in  which 
they  sojourn  for  a  season,  their  minds  receive  a  quickening 
impulse,  and  they  learn  that  "the  Bible  without  a  clasp"  is 
the  palladium  of  true  liberty,  they  cannot  but  communicate 
to  their  countrymen  around  them  something  of  the  same 
impulse. 

With  reference  to  the  field  thus  opened  among  the 
Italians,  both  in  and  out  of  Italy,  the  "  Philo-Italian  So- 
ciety" was  founded  a  few  months  ago,  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  The  correspondence  of  that  Society,  and  the  consul- 
tations which  it  has  held  with  friends  of  the  cause  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  have  resulted  in  some  modification  and 
enlargement  of  the  plan  ;  and  thus  has  arisen  the  organiza- 
tion which  now  presents  itself  to  the  christian  public.  Our 
great  object  is  the  promotion  of  religious  freedom  ;  but  still, 
3* 


34  ADDRESS. 

as  before,  we  propose  to  labor  for  that  object,  particularly  and 
chiefly,  by  the  diffusion  of  useful  and  religious  knowledge 
among  the  Italians.  It  is  upon  Italy,  with  all  its  ancient 
and  enduring  influence  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  world,  it 
is  upon  the  metropolis  of  that  great  spiritual  despotism 
which  has  for  ages  overshadowed  the  nations,  that  our  eyes 
are  fixed.  Our  prayer  shall  be,  and  our  hope,  that  the  great 
Babylon  may  fall ;  and  that  the  banner  of  primitive  chris- 
tian truth  and  freedom  may  float  over  the  Vatican  itself. 

In  pursuing  this  object,  we  do  not  expect  to  intrude  upon 
the  appropriate  operations  of  any  existing  benevolent  insti- 
tution. On  the  contrary,  our  labor  will  be  chiefly  that  of  in- 
quirers and  pioneers,  seeking  to  bring  into  action,  in  the 
particular  field  of  our  efforts,  the  various  systems  of  benevo- 
lent enterprise  which  we  find  already  organized.  If  we  find 
it  in  our  power  to  arrange  in  Italy,  or  among  the  Italians 
elsewhere,  an  agency  for  the  distribution  of  Bibles,  we  shall 
call  on  the  Bible  Society  to  do  that  work.  If  we  find  open- 
ings for  the  distributions  of  such  pamphlets  and  books  in  the 
Italian  language  as  can  be  consistently  published  by  the 
American  Tract  Society,  or  by  any  of  the  publishing  boards 
of  the  several  religious  communities  with  which  we  are 
connected,  we  shall  not  fail  to  devolve  that  work  upon 
those  to  whom  it  properly  belongs.  If  we  find  opportunity 
for  the  employment  of  a  living  ministry,  in  the  way  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  Italian  language,  there  are  in- 
stitutions already  in  existence,  on  whose  aid  we  shall  rely, 
to  send  forth  and  sustain  that  living  ministry.  But  at  the 
same  time  there  is  much  to  be  done,  in  our  field  and  for 
our  object,  which  cannot  be  brought  within  the  scope  of 
any  existing  institution  other  than  our  own.  Inquiries 
are  to  be  prosecuted ;  facts  are  to  be  collected,  collated 
and  given  to  the  world ;  agencies  and  correspondences 
are  to  be  established ;  tracts  and  books  are  to  be  prepared 


ADDRESS.  35 

and  issued  in  Italian,  and  perhaps  in  other  languages,  set- 
ting forth  in  a  clear  light,  for  popular  apprehension,  the 
great  argument  for  religious  freedom.  In  these  particular 
efforts  we  must  be  aided  by  contributions  to  our  treasury. 
And  in  reference  to  such  efforts  as  these,  we  ask  for  the  co- 
operation of  all  whose  judgment  shall  approve  our  under- 
taking as  important,  and  as  likely  to  be  conducted  in  a 
right  spirit  and  with  a  suitable  measure  of  sound  discretion. 

With  questions  properly  political  our  association  has 
nothing  to  do.  We  do  not  undertake  to  persuade  the  people 
of  Italy  that  their  governments  need  reformation ;  that  a 
republic  is  happier  than  a  monarchy ;  or  that  an  elective 
magistracy  is  better  than  a  hereditary  aristocracy.  What- 
ever may  be  our  judgment  as  individuals,  whatever  our 
sympathies  as  American  citizens,  we  are  not  political  pro- 
pagandists. We  only  assert  the  saered  right,  the  religious 
duty  of  every  man  to  read  the  Scriptures  for  himself,  and  to 
worship  God,  not  in  blind  submission  to  priests  or  poten- 
tates, but  in  the  exercise  of  his  own  faculties,  and  accord- 
ing to  his  own  convictions. 

To  us,  it  is  an  interesting  feature  of  this  enterprise  that 
it  has  brought  together,  in  free  and  friendly  consultation, 
and  in  hearty  co-operation,  christians  of  various  ecclesiasti- 
cal connections.  We  hope  that  our  Christian  Alliance 
will  be  another  rallying  point  for  that  large  and  catholic 
feeling  which  dwells  ever  in  hearts  that  love  the  Savior. 
And  while  we  invite  our  fellow-disciples,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  to  unite  with  us,  either  singly  or  in  auxiliary  or- 
ganizations, and  thus  to  aid  us  with  their  contributions 
and  their  personal  influence  ;  we  would  yet  more  earnestly 
solicit  their  continual  prayers  for  us,  and  for  "  them  that  are 
at  Rome  also,"  making  request,  if  by  any  means  our  enter- 
prise may  be  prospered  by  the  will  of  God,  "that  we  may 


36  ADDRESS. 

impart  to  them  some  spiritual  gift ;"  and  that  thus  the  Gos- 
pel in  which  we  rejoice,  and  which,  as  disciples  of  Christ 
and  members  of  his  universal  church,  we  hold  forth  to  the 
world,  "may  have  fruit  among  them  also,  even  as  among 
other  Gentiles." 

Leonard  Bacon,  1  Corresponding 

Edwin  Holt,  >    Secretaries. 

George  B.  Cheever.  j 


The  contributions  of  our  friends  are  solicited  in  aid  of 
the  following  specific  efforts,  which  will  be  immediately  at- 
tempted. 

1.  It  is  proposed  to  send  to  London,  Paris,  Lyons,  Switzer- 
land, Marseilles,  Corsica,  Malta,  Corfu,  Constantinople;  Smyr- 
na, Alexandria,  Algiers,  Barcelona,  and  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope resorted  to  by  large  bodies  of  Italians,  a  judicious  agent 
to  establish  a  correspondence,  and  depositories  for  the  sale 
of  Bibles  and  other  books,  and  to  effect  other  arrangements 
for  the  religious  and  intellectual  improvement  of  that  inter- 
esting people. 

2.  It  is  also  highly  desirable  that  similar  arrangements 
may  be  effected  in  Buenos  Ayres,  Montevideo,  Kio  Janeiro, 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  &c.  where  several  thousands  of  Italians 
are  to  be  found,  destitute  of  all  moral  and  religious  in- 
formation. 


ADDRESS.  37 

3.  Funds  are  needed  immediately  for  the  preparation 
and  publication  of  tracts  and  books  in  the  Italian  language ; 
the  History  of  the  Reformation*by  Merle  D'Aubigne  should 
be  translated  into  Italian  without  delay.  The  materials  in 
McCrie's  Memorials  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy  may  be  put 
into  an  Italian  dress  and  published  with  great  effect.  The 
men  are  in  this  country,  native  Italians,  men  of  taste, 
scholarship,  patriotism,  and  enlightened  piety,  who  may  be 
employed  on  these  and  similar  works. 

4.  The  means  are  also  wanting  to  bring  before  the 
American  public  the  true  state  and  condition  of  the  various 
Popish  countries,  and  the  character  of  Popery  as  a  system. 
A  series  of  publications  exhibiting  the  full  developement  of 
the  Christianity  of  Tradition,  will  be  the  true  "  tracts  for  th& 
times." 

*  This  history  is  now  ready  for  publication. 


THE 

EICYCLICAL  LETTER 

OF  OUR  LORD 

POPE  GREGORY  XVI. 

TO    ALL 

PATRIARCHS,  PRIMATES,  ARCHBISHOPS,  AND  BISHOPS, 

ISSUED  MAY  8,  1844. 

TRANSLATED    INTO    ENGLISH    BY 

SIR  CULLING  EARDLEY  SMITH,  BART. 


Venerable  Brethren, 

greeting  and  the  apostolic  benediction. 
Amongst  the  principal  machinations  by  which,  in  this  our  age,  the  Non- 
Catholics  of  various  names  endeavor  to  ensnare  the  adherents  of  the  Catholic 
truth,  and  to  turn  away  their  minds  from  the  holiness  of  the  Faith,  a  promi- 
nent position  is  held  by  the  Bible  Societies.  These  societies,  first  instituted 
in  England,  and  since  extended  far  and  wide,  we  now  behold  in  one  united 
phalanx,  conspiring  for  this  object,  to  translate  the  books  of  the  Divine  Scrip- 
tures into  all  the  vulgar  tongues, — to  issue  immense  numbers  of  copies, — ta 
disseminate  them  indiscriminately  among  Christians  and  Infidels, — and  to 
entice  every  individual  to  peruse  them  without  any  guide.  Consequently,  as 
Jerome*  lamented  in  his  time,  they  make  common  to  the  garrulous  old 
woman,  the  doting  old  man,  the  wordy  sophist,  and  to  all  men  of  every  con- 
dition, provided  only  they  can  read,  the  art  of  understanding  the  Scriptures 
without  an  instructor  ;  nay,  which  is  absurdest  of  all,  and  almost  unheard 
of,  they  do  not  even  exclude  unbelieving  nations  from  such  community  of 
intelligence. 

But,  Venerable  Brethren,  you  are  not  ignorant  of  the  tendency  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  these  societies.  For  you  know  full  well  the  exhortation  of  Peter, 
the  chief  of  the  Apostles,  recorded  in  the  sacred  writings  themselves,  who,  after 

*  Epist.  ad  Paulinum,  sec.  7,  quae  est  Epist.  liii.  torn.  i.  Op.  S.  Hieron.  edit, 
Vallarsii. 


TKE    ENCYCLICAL    LETTER.  39 

praisihg  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  says  that  there  are  in  them  some  things  difficult  to 
be  understood,  which  they  who  are  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do 
also  the  other  Scriptures,  to  their  own  destruction  ;  and  immediately  adds,  You 
therefore,  my  brethren,  knowing  this  beforehand,  be  on  your  guard,  lest,  de- 
ceived by  the  error  of  the  foolish,  you  fall  from  your  own  steadfastness.*  Hence 
it  is  clear  to  you  that  even  from  the  first  age  of  the  Christian  name,  this  art  has 
been  peculiar  to  heretics,  that  repudiating  the  traditionary  word  of  God,  and 
rejecting  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church,  they  either  interpolate  the 
Scriptures  by  hand,  or  pervert  them  in  the  explanation  of  their  meaning,  f 
Nor,  lastly,  are  ye  ignorant  how  great  diligence  and  wisdom  are  needed  in 
order  to  transfer  faithfully  into  another  language  the  words  of  the  Lord  : 
so  that  nothing  is  more  likely  to  happen  than  that  in  the  versions  of  them 
multiplied  by  the  Bible  Societies,  the  most  grievous  errors  may  be  introduced 
by  the  ignorance  or  fraud  of  so  many  interpreters  ;  errors  which  the  very 
multitude  and  variety  of  the  translations  long  conceal  to  the  ruin  of  many. 
To  those  Societies,  however,  it  matters  little  or  nothing  into  what  errors  the 
persons  who  read  the  Bibles  translated  into  the  vulgar  tongues,  may  fall, 
provided  they  be  gradually  accustomed  to  claim  for  themselves  a  free  judg- 
ment of  the  sense  of  the  Scriptures,  to  contemn  the  Divine  traditions  as 
taught  by  the  Fathers  and  preserved  in  the  Catholic  Church,  and  even  to 
repudiate  the  Church's  direction. 

To  this  end,  these  members  of  Bible  societies  cease  not  to  calumniate  the 
Church  and  this  holy  see  of  Peter,  as  if  it  had  for  many  ages  been  endeavor- 
ing to  keep  the  believing  people  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures ;  whilst  there  exist  many  and  most  perspicuous  proofs  of  the  earnest 
desire  which,  even  in  recent  times,  Popes,  and  other  Catholic  dignitaries 
under  their  guidance  have  felt,  that  nations  of  Catholics  might  be  more 
carefully  instructed  in  the  written  and  traditionary  ivords  of  God.  To  which 
head  belong,  in  the  first  place,  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  in  which 
not  only  is  it  enjoined  on  bishops,  to  provide  for  the  more  frequent  announce- 
ment through  each  diocese  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  the  divine  law,%  but, 
enlarging  the  enactment  of  the  Lateran  Council,§  it  is  moreover  provided, 
that  in  each  church,  whether  cathedral  or  collegiate,  of  cities  and  considera- 
ble towns,  there  should  be  a  theological  prebend,  which  should  be  conferred 
solely  on  persons  capable  of  expounding  and  interpreting  the  sacred  Scrip- 

*  2  Perit  iii.  16,  17. 

,  t  Tertullianus,  lib.  De  Prcescriptionibus  adversus  haereticos,  cap.  37,  38. 
J  Sess.  XXXIV.  cap.  4.  De  Ref. 

§  Concil.  Lateran.  anni  1215,  sub  Innocentio  III.  cap.  xi.,  quod  in  corpus 
juris  relatum  est,  cap.  4,  De  Magistris. 


40  THE    ENCYCLICAL    LETTER 

ture.*  Respecting  the  subsequent  constitution  of  the  theological  prebend- 
on  the  plan  of  the  above  Tridentine  enactment,  and  respecting  the  lectures 
to  be  delivered  by  the  theological  canon  to  the  clergy,  and  even  to  the  people, 
steps  were  taken  in  several  provincial  synods,f  particularly  in  the  Roman 
Council  of  the  year  1725,$  to  which  Benedict  XIII.,  our  predecessor  of 
happy  memory,  had  convened  not  only  the  sacred  dignitaries  of  the  Roman 
province,  but  also  several  of  the  arch-bishop3,  bishops  and  other  local  ordina- 
ries, under  the  immediate  authority  of  his  holy  see.§  The  same  Pontiff  made 
several  provisions  with  the  same  design,  in  the  apostolical  letters  which  he 
issued  specifically  for  Italy,  and  the  adjaxent  islands.  ||  To  you,  too,  Vene- 
rable Brethren,  who  at  stated  periods  have  been  accustomed  to  report  to 
the  apostolic  see,  upon  the  condition  of  sacred  affairs  in  your  respective 
dioceses,  it  is  manifest,  from  the  replies  again  and  againU  by  our  "Congrega- 
tion of  Council "  to  your  predecessors,  or  to  yourselves,  how  this  holy  see  is 
wont  to  congratulate  bishops,  if  they  have  theological  prebendaries  ably 
discharging  their  duty  in  the  delivery  of  public  lectures  on  the  sacred  writings, 
and  never  ceases  to  excite  and  assist  their  pastoral  anxieties,  if  anywhere  the 
matter  has  not  succeeded  to  their  wishes. 

With  regard,  however,  to  Bibles  translated  into  the  vulgar  tongues,  it  was 
the  case  even  many  centuries  since,  that  in  various  places  the  holy  dignitaries 
were  obliged  at  times  to  exercise  increased  vigilance,  when  they  discovered 
that  versions  of  this  sort  were  either  read  in  secret  conventicles,  or  were 
actively  distributed  by  heretics.  To  this  refer  the  admonitions  and  cautions 
issued  by  Innocent  III.,  our  predecessor  of  glorious  memory,  concerning 
assemblies  of  laics  and  women  secretly  held  in  the  diocese  of  Metz,**  under  a 
pretence  of  piety,  for  reading  the  Scriptures  ;  and  also  the  peculiar  prohibi- 
tions of  Bibles  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  which  we  find  to  have,  been  issued  in 

*  Trid.  Sess.  V.  cap.  1.  De  Re'f. 

t  In  Concil.  Mediol.  I.  an.  1565,  par.  i.  tit.  5,  Be  Pmb.  Theol. ;  Mediol.  V.  an. 
1579,  par.  iii.  tit.  5,  qua  ad  Beneficior.  collat.  attin.;  Aquensi,  an.  15S5,  De  Ca- 
iwnicis,  et  aliis  plurib. 

}  Tit.  i.  cap.  6,  segg. 

§  In  Litteris  indictionis  Concilii,  24  Decembris,  1724. 

||  Const.  Pastoralis  Officii,  XIV.  Kalend.  Junii,  an.  1725. 

IT  Ex  Constit.  Sixti  V.  Romanus  Pontifex,  XIII.  Kal.  Jan.  an.  1585,  et  Const. 
Bened.  XIV.  quod  Sancta  Sardiccnsis  Synodus,  IX.  Kal.  Pecemb.  1740,  torn.  i. 
Bullar.  ejusdem  Pontit.,  et  ex  Instructione,  quae  extat  in  Append,  ad  Diet, 
torn.  i. 

**  In  tribus  Litteris  datis  ad  Metenses,  atque  ad  illorum  Episcopum  et  capi- 
tal, necnon  ad  Abbates  Cisterciensem,  Morimnndensem,  et  de  Crista,  quae 
sunt  Epist.  141, 142,  lib.  ii.,  et  Epist.  235,  lib.  iii.  in  Edit.  Balutii, 


OF  POPE  GREGORY  XVI.  41 

France  soon  after,*  and  in'  Spain  previous  to  the  ^sixteenth  century.f  But 
greater  precaution  was  needed  afterwards,  when  the  Lutheran  and  Calvinist 
Anti -catholics,  venturing  to  assail  with  an  almost  incredible  variety  of  errors 
the  unchangeable  doctrine  of  the  Faith,  left  no  means  untried  to  deceive  the 
minds  of  the  faithful  by  perverted  explanations  of  the  Scriptures,  and  by  new 
translations  of  them  into  vulgar  tongues,  edited  by  their  adherents.  The 
lately- discovered  art  of  printing  assisted  them  in  multiplying  and  speedily 
spreading  copies.  Accordingly  we  read  in  the  rules  drawn  up  by  the  Fathers 
chosen  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  approved  by  Pius  IV.,  our  predecessor  of 
happy  memory.i  and  prefixed  to  the  Index  of  Prohibited  Books,  a  provision 
of  general  application  that  Bibles  published  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  should  be 
allowed  to  no  persons  but  those  to  whom  the  reading  of  them  was  judged 
likely  to  be  productive  Of  an  increase  of  faith  and  piety. §  To  this  rule,  after- 
wards rendered  more  stringent,  owing  to  the  pertinacious  frauds  of  the  here- 
tics, a  declaration  was  at  last  attached  by  the  authority  of  Benedict  XIV., 
that  the  perusal  of  such  versions  may  be  considered  permitted,  as  have  been 
published  with  the  approbation  of  the  apostolic  see,  or  with  annotations  taken 
from  the  holy  Fathers  of  the  Church  or  from  learned  and  Catholic  men.|| 

Meanwhile  there  were  not  wanting  new  sectaries  of  the  Jansenist  school, 
who,  in  a  style  borrowed  from  the  Lutherans  and  Calvinists,  scrupled  not  to 
reprehend  these  wise  provisions  of  the  Church  and  the  apostolic  see,  as  if 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  were  useful  and  necessary  to  every  class  of  the 
faithful,  at  every  time  and  in  every  place,  and  therefore  could  not  be  forbid- 
den to  any  one  by  any  authority  whatever.  This  audacity  of  the  Jansenists, 
however,  we  find  severely  reprehended  in  the  solemn  judgments  which,  with 
the  applause  of  the  whole  Catholic  world,  were  delivered  against  their  doc- 
trines by  two  Popes  of  happy  memory,  viz.  Clement  XL,  in  the  bull  Uni- 
genitus,  of  the  year  1713  ;H  and  Pius  VI.,  in  the  bull  Auctorem  Fidei,  of  the 
year  1794.** 

Thus,  therefore,  before  Bible  Societies  were  formed,  by  means  of  the  above 
decrees  of  the  Church  the  faithful  had  been  fortified  against  the  stratagem  of 
the  heretics,  which  lies  concealed  under  the  specious  plan  of  spreading  the 

*  In  Concil.  Tolosano,  an.  1229,  can.  14. 

t  Ex  testimonio  Cardinalis  Pacecco,  in  Concilio  Tridentino  (apud  Pallavi- 
cinum,  storia  del  Concil.  di  Trento,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  12). 

t  In  Const.  Dominici  Gregis,  24  Martii,  1564. 

§  In  Regulis  Indicis  III.  et  IV. 

||  In  Addition,  ad  diet.  Regul.  IV.  ex  Decreto  Congregationis  Indicis,  17 
Junii,  1757. 

If  In  Proscriptione  Propositionum  Quesnelli,  a  num.  79  ad  85. 

**  In  Damnatione  Propositionum  Pseudo-Synodi  Pistoriensis,  num.  67. 
4 


42  THE  ENCYCLICAL  LETTER 

Holy  Scriptures  for  general  use.  Pius  VII.,  however,  our  predecessor  of 
glorious  memory,  in  whose  time  those  societies  arose,  and  who  found  that 
they  were  making  great  progress,  failed  not  to  oppose  their  endeavors,  partly 
through  his  apostolic  nuncios,  partly  by  epistles  and  decrees  issued  by  differ- 
ent congregations  of  cardinals  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,*  and  partly  by 
his  two  papal  briefs  which  he  addressed  to  the  Archbishops  of  Genesnaf  and 
Mohilow.  J  Afterwards  Leo  XII.,  our  predecessor  of  happy  memory,  assailed 
those  same  designs  of  the  Bible  Societies  in  his  Encyclical  Letter  addressed 
to  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  Catholic  world,  on  the  5th  May,  1824  ;  and  the 
same  thing  was  again  done  by  our  immediate  predecessor  of  equally  happy 
memory,  Pius  VIII.,  in  his  Encyclical  Letter  issued  the  24th  May,  1829. 
We,  too,  who  with  far  inferior  merit  have  succeeded  to  his  place,  have  not 
omitted  to  exercise  our  apostolical  solicitude  upon  the  same  object,  and  among 
other  things  have  taken  steps  to  recall  to  the  memory  of  the  faithful  the 
rule  formerly  enacted  concerning  translations  of  the  Scripture  into  the  vulgar 
tongues.§ 

We  have,  however,  great  cause  to  congratulate  you,  Venerable  Brethren, 
that,  at  the  impulse  of  your  own  piety  and  wisdom,  and  confirmed  by  the 
above  letters  of  our  predecessors,  you  have  never  neglected,  when  necessary, 
to  admonish  the  Catholic  flock  to  beware  of  the  snares  laid  for  them  by  the 
Bible  Societies.  From  these  efforts  of  the  bishops,  in  conjunction  with  the 
solicitude  of  this  supreme  see  of  Peter,  it  has  resulted,  under  the  Lord's 
blessing,  that  certain  incautious  Catholics,  who  were  imprudently  encourag- 
ing Bible  Societies,  seeing  through  the  fraud,  immediately  withdrew  from 
them ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  faithful  have  continued  nearly  untouched  by 
the  contagion  which  threatened  them  from  that  quarter. 

Meanwhile  the  biblical  sectaries  were  possessed  with  the  confident  hope  of 
acquiring  great  credit,  by  inducing  in  any  manner  unbelievers  to  make  a  pro- 
fession of  the  Christian  name  by  means  of  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  pub- 
lished in  their  own  tongue,  innumerable  copies  of  which  they  caused  to  be 
distributed  through  their  countries,  and  even  to  be  forced  on  the  unwilling, 
by  means  of  missionaries,  or  agents  in  their  employ.  But  these  men  thus 
endeavoring  to  propagate  the  Christian  name  contrary  to  the  rules  instituted 
by  Christ  himself,  found  themselves  almost  always  disappointed,  with  the 

*  Imprimis  per  Epistolam  Congregationis  Propagandas  Fidei  ad  Vicarios 
Apostolicos  Persia,  Armenia?,  aliarumque  Orientis  Regionum  datam  3  Au- 
gusti,  1816,  et  per  Decretum  de  omnibus  hujusmodi  versionibus  editum  a 
Cong.  Indicis,  23  Junii,  1817. 

t  Die  1  Junii,  1816.  {  Die  4  Septembris,  1S16. 

§  In  Monito  adjecto  ad  Decretum  Congregationis  Indicis,  7  Januarii,  1836. 


OF  POPE  GREGORY  XVI.  43 

exception  that  they  were  able  sometimes  to  create  new  impediments  to  Catho- 
lic priests,  who,  proceeding  to  these  nations  with  a  commission  from  this 
holy  see,  spared  no  exertions  to  beget  new  sons  to  the  church,  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  prepared 
even  to  shed  their  blood  amidst  the  most  exquisite  torments  for  the  salvation 
of  the  heathen,  and  as  a  testimony  to  the  faith. 

Amidst  these  sectaries,  thus  frustrated  in  their  hopes,  and  reviewing  with 
sorrowful  hearts  the  immense  amount  of  money  already  spent  in  publishing 
and  fruitlessly  distributing  their  Bibles,  some  have  lately  appeared,  who,  pro- 
ceeding upon  a  somewhat  new  plan,  have  directed  their  machinations  towards 
making  their  principal  assault  on  the  minds  of  the  Italians,  and  of  the 
citizens  of  our  very  city.  In  fact,  from  intelligence  and  documents  lately  re- 
ceived, we  have  ascertained  that  several  persons  of  different  sects  met  last 
year  at  New  York  in  America,  and  on  the  12th  of  June  formed  a  new  society, 
entitled,  "  The  Christian  Alliance,"  to  be  increased  by  new  members  from 
every  nation,  or  by  auxiliary  societies,  whose  common  design  shall  be  to  in- 
troduce religious  liberty,  or  rather  an  insane  desire  of  indifference  in  religion, 
among  the  Romans  and  other  Italians.  For  they  acknowledge  that  for  several 
centuries,  the  institutions  of  the  Roman  and  Italian  race  have  had  such  great 
and  general  influence,  that  there  has  been  no  great  movement  in  the  world, 
which  has  not  begun  from  this  holy  city ;  a  fact  which  they  trace  not  to  the 
establishment  here,  by  the  Divine  disposal,  of  the  supreme  see  of  Peter,  but 
to  certain  remnants  of  the  ancient  dominion  of  the  Romans,  lingering  in  that 
power  which,  as  they  say,  our  predecessors  have  usurped.  Accordingly, 
being  resolved  to  confer  on  all  the  nations  liberty  of  conscience,  or  rather  of 
error,  from  whence,  as  from  its  proper  source,  political  liberty  will  also  flow, 
with  an  increase  of  public  prosperity,  in  their  sense  of  the  word,  they  feel 
they  can  do  nothing  unless  they  make  some  progress  among  the  Italians  and 
citizens  of  Rome ;  intending  afterwards  to  make  great  use  among  other 
nations  of  their  authority  and  assistance.  This  object  they  feel  sure  of 
attaining,  from  the  circumstance  that  so  many  Italians  reside  in  various  places 
throughout  the  world,  and  afterwards  return  in  considerable  numbers  to  their 
own  country ;  many  of  whom,  being  influenced  already  of  their  own  accord 
with  the  love  of  change,  or  being  of  dissolute  habits,  or  being  afflicted  with 
poverty,  may  without  much  trouble  be  tempted  to  give  their  name  to  the 
society,  or  at  least  to  sell  their  services  to  it.  Their  whole  aim,  then,  is 
directed  to  procuring  the  assistance  of  such  persons  in  every  direction,  trans- 
mitting hither  by  their  means  mutilated  Italian  Bibles,  and  secretly  depositing 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  faithful ;  distributing  also  at  the  6ame  time  other 


44  THE  ENCYCLICAL  LETTER 

mischievous  books  and  tracts,  intended  to  alienate  the  mind  of  the  readers 
from  their  allegiance  to  the  Church  and  this  holy  see,  composed  by  the  help 
of  those  same  Italians,  or  translated  by  them  from  other  authors  into  the 
language  of  the  country.  Among  these  they  principally  name  the  History 
of  the  Reformation,  by  Merle  d'Aubigne,  and  the  Memoirs  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Italy,  by  John  Cric  [John  M'Crie],*  The  probable  character  of  this 
whole  class  of  books  may  be  inferred  from  this  circumstance,  that  it  is  a  law 
of  the  Society,  with  regard  to  select  Committees  for  the  choice  of  books,  that 
there  shall  never  be  two  individuals  of  the  same  religious  sect  upon  any  one 
of  them.f 

As  soon  as  this  news  reached  us,  we  could  not  but  be  deeply  pained  at  the 
consideration  of  the  danger  with  which  we  learned  that  the  sectaries 
menaced  the  security  of  our  holy  religion,  not  merely  in  places  remote  from 
this  city,  but  even  at  the  very  centre  of  Catholic  unity.  For  though  there  is 
not  the  slightest  cause  for  fear  that  the  see  of  Peter  should  ever  fail,  upon 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  built  the  impregnable  foundation  of  his 
church,  we  must  not  for  that  reason  cease  from  maintaining  its  authority  ; 
nay,  our  very  office  of  the  supreme  apostolate  reminds  us  of  the  severe 
account  which  the  Divine  Chief  Shepherd  will  require  of  us  for  any  tares 
sown  by  the  enemy  while  we  slept,  which  may  grow  up  in  the  Master's 
field ;  and  for  the  blood  of  any  sheep  entrusted  to  us  which  by  our  fault 
may  have  perished. 

Having,  therefore,  taken  into  our  council  several  cardinals  of  the  holy 
Roman  Church,  and  having  gravely  and  maturely  weighed  the  whole  matter, 
with  their  concurrence  we  have  decided  to  issue  this  epistle  to  you,  Venerable 
Brethren,  in  which,  as  respects  all  the  aforesaid  Bible  Societies,  already  re- 
probated by  our  predecessors,  we  igain  with  apostolical  authority  condemn 
them  ;  and  by  the  same  authority  of  our  supreme  apostolate,  we  reprobate  by 
name  and  condemn  the  aforesaid  new  society  of  the  "  Christian  Alliance," 

*  The  following  are  the  works  referred  to  :  "  History  of  the  Great  Reforma- 
tion of  the  Sixteenth  Century  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  &c.  By  J.  H.  Merle 
d'Aubigne'."     "  Histoire  de  la  Reformation.     Par  J.  H.  Merle  d'Aubigne." 

"  History  of  the  Progress  and  Suppression  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century;  including  a  Sketch  of  the  History  of  the  Reformation  in 
the  Grisons.     By  Thomas  M'Crie,  D.D." 

t  The  following  is  the  rule  referred  to  : — "  The  Bourd  of  Councillors  shall 
annually  elect,  by  ballot,  a  committee  of  publication,  consisting  of  not  less  than 
three,  nor  more  than  five  members,  no  two  of  whom  shall  belong  to  the  same 
religious  denomination  ;  and  no  books  or  tracts  shall  be  published  or  circulated 
by  the  Society  to  which  any  member  of  that  Committee  shall  object." — 
Translator. 


OF  POPE  GREGORY  XVI.  45 

constituted  last  year  at  New  York,  and  other  associations  of  the  same  sort,  if 
any  have  joined  it,  or  shall  hereafter  join  it.  Hence  be  it  known,  that  all 
such  persons  will  be  guilty  of  a  great  crime  before  God  and  the  church,  who 
shall  presume  to  give  their  name,  or  lend  their  help,  or  in  any  way  to  favor 
any  of  the  said  societies.  Moreover,  we  confirm  and  by  apostolical  authority 
renew  the  aforesaid  directions  already  issued  concerning  the  publication,  dis- 
tribution, reading,  and  retention  of  books  of  the  Holy  Scripture  translated 
into  the  vulgar  tongues ;  while  with  respect  to  other  works,  of  whatever 
author,  we  wish  to  remind  all  persons  that  the  general  rules  and  the  decrees 
of  our  predecessors,  prefixed  to  the  Index  of  Prohibited  Books,  are  to  be  abided 
by;  and  consequently,  not  only  are  those  books  to  be  avoided  which  are  by 
name  included  in  the  same  index,  but  those  also  to  which  the  aforesaid  gene- 
ral directions  refer. 

Called  as  you  are,  Venerable  Brethren,  to  participate  in  our  solicitude,  we 
urgently  bid  you  in  the  Lord  to  announce  and  explain,  as  place  and  time 
permit,  to  the  people  entrusted  to  your  pastoral  care  this  our  apostolic  judg- 
ment and  commands  ;  and  to  endeavor  to  turn  away  the  faithful  sheep  from 
the  above  society  of  the  "  Christian  Alliance"  and  its  auxiliaries,  as  also 
from  all  other  Bible  Societies,  and  from  all  communication  with  them.  At 
the  same  time  it  will  also  be  your  duty  to  seize  out  of  the  hands  of  the  faith- 
ful, not  only  Bibles  translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  published  contrary  to 
the  above  directions  of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  but  also  proscribed  or  injurious 
books  of  every  sort,  and  thus  to  provide  that  the  faithful  may  be  taught  by 
your  monitions  and  authority,  "  what  sort  of  pasture  they  should  consider 
salutary  to  them,  and  what  noxious  and  deadly."  Meanwhile,  Venerable 
Brethren,  apply  yourselves  daily  more  and  more  to  the  preaching  of  the  word 
of  God,  as  well  personally  as  by  means  of  those  who  have  cure  of  souls  in 
each  diocese,  and  other  ecclesiastical  men  suited  to  that  function  ;  and  espe- 
cially pay  more  vigilant  attention  to  those  whose  office  it  is  to  hold  public 
lectures  on  the  Sacred  Scripture,  that  they  may  diligently  discharge  their  duty 
to  the  comprehension  of  their  readers  ;  and  may  never  under  any  pretext 
venture  to  interpret  or  explain  the  Divine  writings  contrary  to  the  tradition  of 
the  Fathers,  or  differently  from  the  sense  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Lastly,  as 
it  pertains  to  a  good  shepherd  not  only  to  protect  and  nourish  the  sheep  which 
adhere  to  him,  but  also  to  seek  and  bring  back  to  the  fold  those  which  have 
strayed  away,  it  will  therefore  be  both  your  duty  and  ours,  to  apply  all  the 
energy  of  our  pastoral  endeavors,  that  if  any  persons  have  suffered  themselves 
to  be  seduced  by  such  sectaries  and  propagators  of  noxious  books,  they  may 
by  God's  grace  be  led  to  acknowledge  the  gravity  of  their  sin,  and  strive  to 
expiate  it  by  the  remedies  of  a  salutary  penitence.     Neither  must  we  exclude 


46  THE  ENCYCLICAL  LETTER. 

from  the  same  sacerdotal  solicitude  the  seducers  of  others,  and  even  the  chief 
teachers  of  impiety  ;  whose  iniquity  though  it  be  greater,  yet  must  we  not 
abstain  from  the  more  earnestly  seeking  their  salvation  by  all  practicable 
ways  and  means. 

Moreover,  Venerable  Brethren,  against  the  plots  and  designs  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  "  Christian  Alliance,"  we  require  a  peculiar  and  most  lively 
vigilance  from  those  of  your  order  who  govern  churches  situated  in  Italy,  or 
in  other  places  where  Italians  frequently  resort ;  but  especially  on  the  con- 
fines of  Italy,  or  wherever  emporiums  and  ports  exist  from  whence  there  is 
frequent  communication  with  Italy.  For  as  the  sectaries  themselves  propose 
to  carry  their  plans  into  effect  in  those  places,  those  bishops  are  especially 
bound  to  co-operate  with  us,  so  as  by  active  and  constant  exertions,  with  the 
Divine  help,  to  defeat  their  machinations. 

Such  endeavors  on  your  and  our  own  part  we  doubt  not  will  be  aided  by 
the  help  of  the  civil  powers,  and  especially  by  that  of  the  most  potent  princes 
of  Italy;  as  well  on  account  of  their  distinguished  zeal  for  preserving  the 
Catholic  religion,  as  because  it  cannot  have  escaped  their  wisdom,  that  it  is 
highly  to  the  interest  of  the  common  weal,  that  the  aforesaid  designs  of  the 
sectaries  should  fail.  For  it  is  evident,  and  proved  by  the  continued  experi- 
ence of  past  ages,  that  there  is  no  readier  way  to  draw  nations  from  their 
fidelity  and  obedience  to  their  princes,  than  that  indifference  in  the  matter  of 
religion,  which  the  sectaries  propagate  under  the  name  of  religious  liberty. 
Nor  is  this  concealed  by  the  new  society  of  the  "  Christian  Alliance ; "  who, 
though  they  profess  themselves  averse  to  exciting  civil  contentions,  yet  con- 
fess that  from  the  right  of  interpreting  the  Scriptures,  claimed  by  them  for 
every  person  of  the  lowest  class,  and  from  the  universal  liberty  of  conscience, 
as  they  term  it,  which  they  would  thus  spread  among  the  Italian  race,  the 
political  liberty  of  Italy  will  also  spontaneously  follow. 

First,  however,  and  chiefest,  let  us  together  raise  our  hands  to  God,  Vene- 
rable Brethren,  and  commend  to  him  writh  all  the  humility  of  fervent  prayer 
of  which  we  are  capable,  our  own  cause  and  that  of  the  whole  flock  of  his 
own  church  ;  invoking  also  the  most  pious  "  deprecation"  of  Peter  the  chief 
of  the  apostles,  and  of  the  other  saints,  and  especially  of  the  most  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  to  whom  it  is  granted  to  exterminate  all  heresies  throughout  the 
entire  world. 

Lastly,  as  a  pledge  of  our  most  ardent  love,  to  all  of  you,  Venerable 
Brethren,  to  the  clergy  entrusted  to  you,  and  to  the  faithful  laity,  with  unre- 
strained and  hearty  affection  we  lovingly  grant  the  apostolic  benediction. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  the  8th  May,  1844,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of 
our  pontificate, 

GREGORY  PP.  XVI. 


NOTE, 


The  preceding  encyclical  letter  was  published  on  the  25th  May,  1844,  in 
the  Diario  di  Roma  (the  official  gazette  of  the  papal  government),  in  the 
Latin  and  Italian  languages.  The  translation  was  made  from  a  copy  pur- 
chased at  the  Roman  Gazette  Office,  in  June  of  the  same  year.  Sir  Culling 
Eardley  Smith  republished  the  original  document  in  Latin,  and  the  authorized 
version  in  Italian,  in  the  same  pamphlet,  page  by  page  with  his  own  accurate 
and  elegant  version  in  English.  We  have  not  thought  it  necessary,  however, 
to  reprint  them  here.  The  reader  may  be  assured  that  he  has  a  genuine  bull 
of  a  living  Pope. 

The  Translator,  in  a  truly  Catholic  epistle,  dedicated  the  fruit  of  his  labors 
"  to  every  individual  who  is  conscious  of  being  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
Christ."  He  concludes  that  epistle  in  these  words :  "  Who  can  say  that  a 
joint  reply  to  this  papal  manifesto,  from  the  European  and  American  Churches, 
might  not,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  incidentally  lead  to  that  manifestation 
of  the  oneness  of  the  true  Church,  which  apparently  is  to  be  the  means  of 
exposing  the  unsoundness  of  the  false  church,  and  of  proving  to  the  world 
the  Divine  mission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?" 

At  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  Branch  of  the  Christian 
Alliance,  held  in  Boston,  May  29th,  1845,  the  following  Resolutions  were 
adopted : 

Whereas  a  document  has  appeared,  entitled  "  The  Encyclical  Letter  of  our 
Lord,  Pope  Gregory  XVI.,  to  all  Patriarchs,  Primates,  Archbishops,  and 
Bishops,  issued  May  8,  1844,"  in  which  the  Roman  Pontiff  makes  various 
grave  charges  against  Protestant  Christians,  denouncing  with  great  severity 
their  motives,  purposes  and  efforts,  and  enjoining  upon  all  the  faithful  to 
oppose  and  counteract  their  endeavors,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  Protestant  Christians,  as  they 
would  show  due  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  Supreme  Head  of  the 
Church,  and  suitably  honor  the  truth  which  they  hold  in  common,  and 
declare  to  the  world  their  essential  unity  in  the  spirit  and  faith  of  the  Gospel, 
to  unite  in  a  joint  reply  to  this  papal  manifesto. 

Resolved,  That,  as  some  passages  in  this  remarkable  document  clearly 
indicate  that  the  formation  of  "  The  Christian  Alliance,"  with  the  undisguised 
announcement  of  its  principles  and  designs,  was  the  immediate  occasion  that 
drew  from  His  Holiness  this  development  of  his  solicitude  and  indignation,  it 
is  incumbent  on  this  Association  to  adopt  incipient  measures  with  reference 
to  the  preparation  of  such  a  reply  as  the  case  obviously  demands. 


48  NOTE. 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  now  appointed  to  correspond  with  such 
clergymen  and  others,  as  they  may  judge  expedient,  in  England,  Scotland, 
France,  Switzerland  and  Germany,  inviting  the  appointment  of  European 
Committees  who  shall  represent  their  respective  branches  of  the  Protestant 
Brotherhood,  and  co-operate  with  the  American  Committee  in  preparing  and 
publishing,  in  various  languages,  such  a  reply  to  said  Encyclical  Letter  as 
they  can  jointly  issue. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Committee  consist  of  the  following  gentle- 
men, who  shall  have  power  to  fill  any  vacancy  which  may  occur  in  their 
number : 

Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.D.,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.D.,  of  the  Congregational  Church. 

Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  DD.,  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

Rev.  William  R.  Williams,  D.D.,  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Rev  George  Peck,  D.D.,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Rev.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.D.,  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Rev.  Thomas  De  Witt,  D.D.,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 

Rev.  John  W.  Nevin,  D.D.,  of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 
Subsequently,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Branch  (on  the  2d  of  June),  it  was  resolved,  "  That  the  Resolutions 
passed  at  the  anniversary  meeting  of  this  Society,  on  the  29th  of  May  last, 
in  reference  to  the  preparation  of  a  reply  to  the  Encyclical  Letter  of  the 
Pope,  be  referred  to  the  action  of  the  parent  Society  in  New  York." 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  parent  Society  have  accordingly  requested 
a  member  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the  Massachusetts  Branch  to  pre- 
pare for  them  the  proposed  reply.  Such  a  document,  though  subsciibed  by 
many,  must  of  course  be  mainly  the  production  of  one  mind,  and  the  preparation 
of  it  must  be  a  work  of  time.  The  Committee  hope  to  be  able  to  submit  it  to 
the  Society  at  the  next  annual  meeting.  Meanwhile  we  invite  the  friends  of 
the  Redeemer  everywhere  to  co-operate  with  us  in  the  noble  work  of  extend- 
ing religious  freedom  throughout  the  world.  We  respectfully  request  pastors 
to  present  the  cause  to  their  people,  and  remit  to  us  their  contributions,  thus 
saving  the  expense  of  agencies.  We  especially  recommend  the  formation  of 
auxiliary  Societies.  The  moral  influence  of  such  organizations,  both  upon 
those  who  compose  them  and  upon  Romanists,  is  an  important  feature  of  our 
plans.    They  show  the  real  strength  and  unity  of  Protestants. 


Princet 


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